
Class 
Book 




THE WORLDo 



GRADUATED SUNDAY-SCHOOL TEXT-BOOKS, 
:no. i. 



LESSONS 



nr 



BIBLE HISTOKY 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 



By JAMES FLOY, D.D. 



1 IFRitJ 






PUBLISHED BY CARLTON & fpRli 

AVHTt AY -SCHOOL tTNION, S80 MULBKHKV-BTRHET. 



<$><: 



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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S61, by 

CARLTON & POltTEB, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States 
for the Southern District of New York. 



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EDITOR'S NOTE TO TEACHERS. 



-*•♦- 



This volume is the first of a series 
of text-books for Sunday-schools. 
It is designed for pupils of from 
eight to nine years of age, and is 
therefore written in a simple style, 
and : for the most part in short easy 
words. Its purpose is to impress an 
outline of the leading facts taught in 
the Old Testament on the minds of 
young children. 

The lessons are to be so far com- 
mitted to memory by the pupils as 
to enable them to answer the ques- 
tions at their close with readiness. 
Those teachers who think it best, 



6 EDITOR'S NOTE TO TEACHERS. 

can allow the lesson to be read by 
their classes before hearing it recited, 
and can accompany the reading 
with such remarks of their own as 
they may deem pertinent. To meet 
the views of those who wish to keep 
the words of Holy Scripture before 
their scholars, we shall shortly pub- 
lish a series of lessons from the Bible 
itself, to be read in the class after 
the recitation from the text-book. 
Thus by combining reading and 
recitation with remarks by the teach- 
er, the facts taught in these les- 
sons will be thoroughly impressed 
on the memory of the pupil. And 
the child who really masters this lit- 
tle volume, will have in his mind 
vastly more of Scripture history than 
he would be likely to remember if 
he were led through the Old Testa- 
ment under the guidance of the 
question books now in general use. 



EDITORS NOTE TO TEACHERS. 7 

The hymns at the close of each les- 
son may be committed to memory 
during the week, and recited on the 
Sabbath. 

This volume will be followed by 
another on New Testament his- 
tory, written on the same plan, but 
in a style slightly elevated above 
this, because intended for pupils a 
year or two older. A third volume 
will succeed that, on the morality of 
Holy Scripture, and a fourth on its 
doctrines. Should these prove ac- 
ceptable to the public two others 
will be added in due time ; the whole 
will constitute a complete course of 
Sunday-school instruction for children 
between the ages of eight or nine 
and fifteen years of age. 

The lessons are fifty-two in num- 
ber, it being intended that they 
should occupy just a year. The 
same plan will be observed in the 



8 EDITOR'S NOTE TO TEACHERS. 

other volumes of the series. On the 
day for Revision, which occurs once 
a quarter, the teacher may propose 
such additional questions as may be 
thought proper. 

To the officers of schools intending 
to adopt this series of text-books, we 
suggest that where the pupils of 
eight or nine years old number more 
than six, they should be organized 
into a department containing as many 
classes as may be required, to be call- 
ed the primary department, or the 
department of Old Testament His- 
tory. When they graduate at the 
end of the year into the next volume 
in the course, let them constitute a 
second department, or a department 
of New Testament history, and so on 
until the whole school is organized 
into as many departments as are 
demanded by the number of the 
books in the course, d. w. 



CONTENTS. 



-4-»^ 



LB8BON ?AO» 

I. Creation of the World 11 

II. The Garden of Eden 14 

III. Sin and Death 18 

IY. Cain and Abel 21 

Y. Enoch walked with God 26 

YI. The general Deluge 29 

YII. The Olive Leaf and the Rainbow 34 

YIII. The Tower of Babel 38 

IX. Abram and Lot 42 

X. Sodom and Gomorrah 47 

XI. The Dead Sea 51 

XII. The Trial of Abraham's Faith 56 

XIII. First Quarterly Revision 60 

XIY. The Death of Abraham 65 

XY. Jacob and Esau 69 

XYI. Jacob's Yision 73 

XYII. Israel the Conqueror 77 

XYIII. Joseph and his Brothers 81 

XIX. Joseph the Governor 87 

XX. The Cruel Decree 92 

XXI. The Birth of Moses 97 

£XII. The Burning. Bush. ................. 10} 



10 CONTENTS. 

1K880K TAG* 

XXIII. Pharaoh's Refusal 106 

XXIV. The Plagues of Egypt . 110 

XXV. The Passover 117 

XXVI. Second Quarterly Revision 121 

XXVII. Passage of the Red Sea 126 

XXVIII. The Manna in the Wilderness 132 

XXIX. The Day of Pentecost 137 

XXX. The Golden Calf 141 

XXXI. The Pillar of Eire 146 

XXXII. Caleb and Joshua 151 

XXXIII. Aaron's Rod 155 

XXXIV. The Death of Moses 159 

XXXV. The Walls of Jericho 164 

XXXVI. The Death of Joshua 169 

XXXVII. Deborah the Prophetess 173 

XXXVIII Gideon's Victory 178 

XXXIX. Third Quarterly Revision 183 

XL. Jepthah and his Daughter 188T 

XLI. Saul, the first King of Israel 193 

XLII. David, the Royal Psalmist 198 

XLIII. Solomon 203 

XLIV. The Kingdom of Israel 207 

XLV. Elijah and Elisha 212 

XLVI. The Conquest of Samaria 216 

XLVII. The Kingdom of Judah 221 

XLVIII. Prophets and Kings of Judah 226 

XLIX. The Downfall of Judah 231 

L. Captivity in Babylon 235 

LI. Shiloh, or the Promised Saviour. . 240 

LII. Fourth Quarterly Revision 245 



LESSONS 

IN 

BIBLE HISTORY. 



4< » ■ 



LESSON FIRST. 

CREATION OF THE WORLD. 

God made this world in which we live. 

He made the sun too, and the moon, and 
the stars, and all things that we see. 

He made them in six days ; but he could 
have made them all in one day, or in less 
than that, by a word, as he made the light ; 
for he said, Let there be light, and there 
was light. 

Then God made the dry land and the sea. 
He made the trees and the grass ; the beasts 
of the field ; the fowls, and all kinds of birds ; 
great whales and all sorts of fish. And God 
saw that all was good, and did bless all that 
he had made. 

Then God made the first man. He made 
him of the dust of the earth, and gave him a 



12 BIBLE HISTORY. 

soul tliat could not die. He said that the 
beasts, and the birds, and all things he had 
made should serve man, and that he should 
rule the world and all things in it. 

The first man's name was Ad-am. God 
gave him that name ; and then Ad-am gave 
names to all the wild beasts, and to the 
horse, and the cow, and the sheep, and all 
that are tame and of use to man. He gave 
names, too, to the birds that fly in the air, 
and each bore the name by which he did 
call them. Ad-am knew how to give them 
names, for God taught him, and made him 
wise. He was good too, and did not sin, 
for he was made like God. 

Then the Lord made a wife to be a help 
for Ad-am, and to be his friend ; to love him, 
and talk to him, and take care of him, while 
he was to take care of her and love her ; for 
the Lord saw that it would not be good for 
him to have no one to talk with ; and the 
dumb beasts, and birds, and fish could not 
be his friends, for they can-not speak. Now, 
try and learn this hymn : 

I sing the Power of G-od 
That built the earth and skies ; 

That spread the flo-w-ing seas a-broad, 
And bade the mount-Bins rise. 



OLD TESTAMENT. 13 

His Wis-dom first or-dained 

The sun to rule the day ; 
The moon shines but at his com-mand, 

While all the stars o-bey. 

The Good-ness of the Lord 
Filled the whole earth with food ; 

He formed all crea-tures by his word, 
And then pro-nounced them good. 



Questions ox Lesson I. 

1. Who made this world ? 

2. What did God make? 

3. What else did God make? 

4. Who made the sun ? the moon ? the stars ? 

5. In how much time did God make all these thing* ? 

6. Could he have made them in less time ? 

7. How much less? 

8. Who made the light? 

9. How did God make the light ? 

10. What did he say when he made it? 

11. Who said, Let there be light ? 

12. When God said. Let there be light, what then? 

13. Who made the dry land ? 

14. Who made the sea ? 

15. What else did God make ? 

16. What did God then see? 

17. Who saw that all was good? 

18. What did God then do? 

19. Who blessed all that he had made? 

20. Of what was the first man made ? 



14 



BIBLE HISTORY. 



21. What did God give the first man? 

22. What cannot die? 

23. Have you a soul ? 

24. What did God say should serve man 7 

25. Who did he say should rule the world? 

26. What was the name of the first man? 

27. Who gave him that name ? 

28. Then what did Adam do ? 

29. Who gave names to beasts and birds ? 

30. Who taught him how to give these names ? 
31 Who made Adam wise ? 

32. Whom was he made like? 

33. What did the Lord then make? 

34. What was his wife to be ? 

35. What was she to do? 

36. What did the Lord see ? 

37. Why could not the dumb beasts be Adam's friends ? 



-♦•♦- 



LESSON SECOND. 

THE GARDEN OF EDEN. 

The name which Ad-am gave to his wife 
was Eve. He said, She is bcjne of my 
bones, and flesh of my flesh. She shall be 
call-ed wo-man, for she was ta-ken out of 
man. 

Then the Lord put both the man and hk 



OLD TESTAMENT. 



15 



wife in a gar-den to live. The Lord laid 
out that gar-den, and plant-ed all the trees 
in it. He gave it the name of E-den. There 
has not been since so fine a gar-den as that 
was in all the world. It had in it all kinds 
of fruits and flow-ers. All oth-er gar-dens 
have been laid out and made by men, and 
they could not do as the Lord did, nor at 

all like it. 

Of the fruit of all the trees but one in that 
gar-den the man Ad-am and his wife Eve 
were told that they might eat. But of the 
fruit of 'that one tree the Lord told them 
they should not eat. In the day you taste 
of it, said he, you shall die. God was very 
good to give them the fruit of all the trees 
but one ; and they were both hap-py, and 
had no wish to do what the Lord had told 
them they should not do. 

At the end of six days all the works of 
God were done ; and he said that the next day 
should be a day of rest. And so it was, and 
so it has been, and so it must be till the end 
of time. 

There are six days in each week in which 
men may work, and in which boys and girls 
may play. Then comes a day of rest, in 
which no kind of work ought to be done, 



16 BIBLE HISTORY. 

and on which it is not right to play. On 
that day we ought to go to church, and 
sing hymns of praise, and read God's word, 
and call up-on his name. 

That day has been known by ma-ny 
names. The best name for it is The Lord's 
Day ; for it is HIS, and he made it. 

Hymn. 

The Sab-bath is a day of rest 

Which, when God made the world, he blest ; 

A day of joy and sacred peace 

On which all toil and labor cease. 

Let us de-vote this ho-ly day 
His will to learn and to o-bey ; 
So shall he hear us when we raise 
Our hymns of grat-i-tude and praise. 

Fa-ther ! in whom cur hopes con-fide, 
Whose power de-fends, whose pre-cepts guide ; 
In life our trust, in death our friend, 
Glo-ry be thine till time shall end. 



Questions on Lesson H. 

1. What was the name of the first woman ? 

2. Who gave her that name ? 

3. What did Adam say when Eve appeared ? 

4. Where did Adam and Eve first live? 



OLD TESTAMENT. 17 

5. Who put them in the garden? 

6. Who laid out that garden and planted the trees in 

it? 

7. By what name was that garden called ? 

8. Who gave it that name? 

9. What kind of a garden was it ? 

10. What grew in that garden ? 

11. By whom are all other gardens planted ? 

12. What were Adam and Eve told they might eat? 

13. Who told them that ? 

14. Of what were they forbidden to eat ? 

15. What did the Lord say would happen if they did 

eat of that tree ? 

16. Were they happy in the garden of Eden? 

1 7. What had they no wish to do ? 

18. Was not the Lord kind to give them the fruit of 

all the trees but one ? 

19. When were God's works of creation all done ? 

20. What did he then say ? 

21. Has there been a weekly day of rest ever since ? 

22. How long will there continue to be a weekly day 

of rest ? 

23. How many days in the week have we for work and 

play ? 

24. Do you know the names of the days of the week ? 

25. What may not be done on the Sabbath? 

26. What ought we to do on that day ? 

27. Tell me some of the names by which that day is 

known. 

28. What is the best name for it? 

29. Do you know any passage of Scripture in which 

it is called the Lord's Day ? 
2 



18 BIBLE HISTORY. I 

LESSON THIRD. 

SIN AND DEATH. 

One day Eve was tempt-ed to take of the 
fruit of the tree of which the Lord had said, 
Ye shall not eat. She saw that the tree 
was good for food, and in an e-vil hour put 
forth her hand, and took some of the fruit 
and ate it. Then she gave some to Ad-am, 
and he did eat al-so. 

Soon they both heard the voice of the 
Lord. It was in the cool of the day, and 
they tried to hide where God could not find 
them. But that was in vain, for he sees 
and knows all things. 

When the Lord said, What have you 
done? they both felt bad, but did not own 
their fault, nor ask for par-don. Thus it 
was that sin first came in-to this world. 

And God sent a curse up-on the earth, so 
that it should bring forth weeds and thorns; 
and he told Ad-am that in the sweat of his 
face he should till the ground, and earn 
bread to eat. He told them both that they 
should die, and that their bod-ies should go 
back to the dust from which they were 



OLD TESTAMENT. 19 

made. Thus it was that death came in-to 
this world, and from that time to die has 
been the lot of all. 

Then the Lord drove them both out from 
the gar-den of E-den, to till the ground, 
from which they were to get their food, un- 
til the time should come for them to die. 
And God put a sword at the gate of the gar- 
den of E-den, so that they could not go back. 

We may be sure it was a sad day for 
them when they left their home to see it no 
more, and went out to earn their bread in 
the wide world. Then they felt how bad a 
thing it is to sin, and to do that which God 
has said, Ye shall not do. 

But God was good to them e-ven then. 
Though they were to leave E-den, and must 
soon die, yet he made to them the prom-ise 
of a Sav-iour, who is Christ the Lord, who 
should in due time come in-to the world and 
die for them. By him the curse was to be ta- 
ken a-way, and they might be saved. We too 
may be saved from our sins by Jesus Christ. 

Hym:n\ 

How sad our state by na-ture is ! 

Our sin, how deep its stains ! 
And Sa-tan binds our cap-tive souls 

Fast in his sla-vish chains. 



20 BIBLE HISTORY. 

But there's a voice of sov'reign grace 
Sounds from the sa-cred word: 

Ho! ye de-spair-ing sin-ners, come 
And trust a faith-ful Lord. 

My soul o-beys the gra-cious call, 
And runs to this re-lief ; 

I would be-lieve thy prom-ise, Lord; 
help my un-be-lief! 



Questions ox Lesson III. 

1. What was Eve tempted to do? 

2. Do you know who tempted her ? 

3. Who tempts us to sin against God ? 

4. What did Eve see? 

5. What did she then do ? 

6. To whom did she give the fruit? 
1. What did Adam do? 

8. What did they then hear ? 

9. At what time of the day was it ? 

10. What is meant by the cool of the day? 

11. What did they try to do ? 

12. Did they succeed in hiding themselves? 

13. Why could they not succeed ? 

14. What thus came into our world? 

] 5. What do we call doing what God has forbidden ? 

1 6. What did the Lord say to them? 

17. How did they feel when he asked this? 

] 8. Did they own their fault and ask pardon ? 

19. What did God then send upon the earth? 

20. What did he say the earth should bring forth ? 



OLD TESTAMENT. 21 

21. Were there no thorns or thistles before this? 

22. What did the Lord tell Adam? 

23. What does hard work produce? 

24. What did he tell them both? 

25. Where did he say their bodies should go? 

26. What was thus introduced into this world? 

27. What has been the lot of all from that time? 

28. Must every body die? 

29. What did the Lord then do? 

30. Why could they not get back into the garden of Eden? 

31. What is said of the day when they left their home? 

32. What did they then feel? 

33. Who was good to them even then ? 

34. What promise did he make to them ? 

35. What was the Saviour to do ? 

36. What is the Saviour called? 

37. Who else may be saved by Jesus Christ? 



-♦♦♦- 



LESSON FOURTH. 

CAIN AND ABEL. 

Ad-am and Eve had two sons ; their names 
were Cain and A-bel. In some things they 
were both a-like. Each came in-to the 
world, as we did, with a na-ture prone to 
sin. No doubt they both knew of the 
prom-ise of a Sav-iour, and were taught how 
to pray to God. Both of them were taught 



22 



BIBLE HISTORY, 




CAIN KILLING ABEL. 



to work, and thus, like their father, to earn 
their bread by the sweat of their face. 
Cain was a farm-er; A-bel was a shep-herd. 
God was good to both, and had the same 
love for Cain that he had for A-bel. 

In some things they were not at all a-like. 
A-bel was good, and tried to serve God, and 
God was pleased with him; but Cain did 
not care for his Ma-ker, nor mind what had 
been told him about Je-sus Christ, who had 



OLD TESTAMENT. 23 

been prom-ised as a Sav-iour of all who had 
faith in him. A-bel had faith in Christ as a 
Sav-iour to come, but Cain had not. 

And Cain did not love his broth-er. He 
hated him, not be-cause A-bel had done 
him any harm, but be-cause God loved him. 
O how wick-ed that was. It is wrong to 
hate any one; but to hate a broth-er is 
much worse ; and to hate him be-cause he is 
good, is worst of all. 

And it came to pass one day, when they 
were in the field, that Cain was ver-y an- 
gry, and, in a fit of pas-sion, killed his 
broth-er A-bel. 

God, who sees all things, saw him do it. 
In those days the Lord spoke to men with a 
voice that they could hear, and he spoke to 
Cain and said, What hast thou done? and 
where is A-bel thy broth-er? 

God knew what he had done, and he 
knew where A-bel was, for he said, His 
blood cries to me from the ground. But 
the Lord then spoke to Cain to make him 
stop and think of what he had done. But 
Cain would not own his crime, and he told 
the Lord a lie. He said, I know not where 
my broth-er is. 

Then the Lord was an-gry with Cain, not 



24 BIBLE HISTORY. 

on-ly be-cause he had killed A-bel, but be- 
cause he had said what was not true. And 
the Lord pun-ished him, and put a mark 
up-on him. 

Then Cain went out, and dwelt in the 
land of Nod, on the east of E-den. 

Hymn. 

The world can nev-er give 

The bliss for which we sigh; 
'Tis not the whole of life to live, 

Nor all of death to die. 

There is a death whose pang 

Out-lasts the fleet-ing breath : 
what e-ter-nal hor-rors hang 

A-round the sec-ond death! 

Thou God of truth and grace ! 

Teach us that death to shun ; 
Lest we be ban-ished from thy face, 

Forev-er-more un-done. 



Questions on Lesson IV. 

1. What were the names of Adam's two sons? 

2. Were they both alike in some things ? 

3. With what kind of a nature were they born ? 

4. Who else came into the world with a nature prono 

to evil? 



OLD TESTAMENT. 25 

5. What did they both know ? 

6. What were they taught to do ? 

7. Who do you think taught them? 

8. Were they taught to work also ? 

9. How did they earn their bread ? 

10. What was Cain's business? 

11. What was Abel's? 

12. Who is said to have been good to both? 

13. What was Abel's character? 

14. What did Abel try to do? 

15. Who was pleased with him ? 

16. What is said of Cain? 

17. Who had been promised as a Saviour? 

18. Who had faith in Christ as a Saviour to come? 

19. Had Cain the same faith? 

20. Who hated his brother? 

21. Why did Cain hate his brother? 

22. Was not that very wicked? 

23. What then came to pass? 

24. Where were they when this took place? 

25. Who saw him kill his brother ? 

26. Who sees all things? 

27. How did the Lord speak to men in those days? 

28. What did the Lord say to Cain? 

29. What did the Lord say of Abel's blood? 

30. Why did the Lord speak thus to Cain? 

31. What did Cain then do? 

32. What did he say? 

33. Why was the Lord angry with Cain ? 

34. What did the Lord do to him? 

35. What did Cain then do? 



26 BIBLE HISTORY. 



LESSON FIFTH. 
ENOCH WALKED WITH GOD. 
Lv those days men lived a great ma-ny more 
years than they do now. When Ad-am an! 

their/ 6 " ^^^ and *** y°™ old 
they had an-oth-er son, whose name was Seth. 

rert J T, ^ ^ m ° re S0DS and ^Ugh- 

te 1S ; and Ad-am died when he was nine 
hund-red and thir-ty years of age. We are 
nottoldwhenEvediednorhow g oldshewas 

thnJ J 10 * W mUch a - bout the ^orld in 
those ear-ly a-ges. A few of the men whose 

names we find in the Bi-ble were good and 

^0/^ Seth — ne ff them" 
and E-noch, of whom it is said that he walked 
with God ; that is, he did as God would 
W him do, and kept the law of the Lord 
For the long space of three hund-red years 

hnght light that shines in a dark place ; and 
while most of those who were then up-on 
earth did not love nor fear God, E-noch's 

S/L 8 ,.^ pIeased the Lord < ™* the 

Lord told him so. Heb. xi, 5. 

There are some things in the life of this 



OLD TESTAMENT. 27 

good man that all ought to know. One of 
them is the fact that he had no Bi-ble, such 
as we have, to be a guide for him and to 
teach him the path of life. 

Then we must bear in mind that he had 
but few good men with whom to talk, and 
pray, and praise God. He was not blest as 
we are with friends to help him on his way, 
but he had the grace of God, which all may 
have, and by which all of us may serve and 
please God as he did. 

But now I must tell you a strange thing. 
E-noch did not die. When he was three 
hund-red and six-ty-five years old it is said, 
" He was not for God took him ;" that is, as 
Saint Paul tells us, God took him up, a-live 
as he was, to dwell with him in that world 
of joy which is called heav-en. 

If you know how ma-ny days there are in 
a year you will not for-get how old E-noch 
was when the Lord took him. Just as 
ma-ny days as there are in a year, just so 
ma-ny years did E-noch live. 

E-noch had a son whose life was lon-ger 
than that of an-y oth-er man. His name 
was Me-thu-se-lah. He liv-ed nine hund-red 
and six-ty-nine years. He was the grand- 
father of Xo-ah. 



28 BIBLE HISTORY. 

Hymx. 

Thou God of all suf-fi-cient grace, 
My God in Christ thou art ; 

may I walk be-fore thy face 
Till I am pure in heart. 

Until, trans-formed by faith di-vine, 
I gain that love un-known, 

And bright in all thine im-age shine, 
By put-ting on thy Son. 



Questions on Lesson V. 

1. What is said of the men who lived in those days ? 

2. What happened when Adam and Eve were a hund- 

red and thirty years old ? 

3. What was the name of that son ? 

4. How old was Adam when Seth was born ? 

5. After that what happened? 

6. Do you know how old Adam was when he died? 

7. What is said about the age and death of Eve? 

8. What do we know about the world in those early 

ages ? 

9. What is said of a few of those who lived then ? 

1 0. Mention the names of two good men. 

11. What is said of Enoch? 

1 2. Whose son was Seth ? 

13. Can you tell the name of Enoch's father? 

(Gen. v, 18.) , 

14. What is it to walk with God? 

15. How long did Enoch walk with God ? 

16. What was he like? 



OLD TESTAMENT. 29 

17. What is said of most of those then living? 

18. How did Enoch know that his ways pleased God? 

19. What book have we that Enoch had not? 

20. What is the Bible designed to be and to teach? 

21. What is said of Enoch's religious companions? 

22. What had Enoch? 

23. May we all have that grace ? 

24. What strange thing happened to Enoch? 

25. What is said of him in the Book of Genesis ? 

26. How old was Enoch at this time? 

27. What is meant by the phrase, God took him? 

28. Do you know how many days there are in a year ? 

29. What was the name of Enoch's son ? 

30. What is said of him ? 

31. How old was Methuselah when he died? 

32. Who was Methuselah's grandson? 



-4^>- 



LESSON SIXTH. 

THE GENEKAL DELUGE. 

No-ah was the son of La-mech, and La- 
mech was the son of the old-est man. 

No-ah had three sons. Their names were 
Shem, Ham, and Ja-pheth. Ja-pheth was 
the old-est, but Shem is put first be-cause 
through him was to come the prom-ised 
Sav-iour of the world. 

And now we come to a dark time. Men 



30 



BIBLE HISTORY. 




had grown so bad that God said, I will 
send a flood and drown them all. Not 
on-ly were the acts of men bad, but all the 
thoughts of their hearts. They were so bad 
that it is said that God was grieved that he 
had made man on the earth. 

And the Lord said, I will de-stroy mar. 
from the face of the earth, and not on-ly man, 
but the beasts, and the fowls, and the birds! 

Then he told No-ah what he was a-bout 
to do, for Noah was a just man, and, like 



OLD TESTAMENT. 31 

E-noch, he walked with God, and it is said 
that he found grace in the eyes of the Lord. 
Then God said to him, Build an ark, in 
which you may be safe when the flood 
comes up-on the earth. He told him how to 
make it, of what kind of wood it should be 
built, and what should be its size and shape. 

And No-ah did as he was told. 
' Then when the ark, like a great ship, was 
made, God said to him, Come in-to the ark, 
thou and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy 
sons' wives with thee. He told him to take 
with him al-so, two of all sorts of all liv-ing 
things, and food for them all. 

For now, said the Lord, I do bring a 
flood of wa-ters up-on the earth to de-stroy 
all flesh in which is the breath of life ; and 
all things that are in the earth shall die. 

And No-ah did so. They all went in-to 
the ark, and the Lord, it is said, shut them 
in, and of course shut out all those who had 
not sought nor found grace in the sight of 
the Lord. They might have found this 
grace as No-ah did, but they chose to walk 
in the paths of sin. 

And now, as God had said, the rain be-gan 
to M. Day aft-er day, and night aft-er night, 
for the space of forty days, nearJy six 



32 BIBLE HISTORY. 

long weeks, the flood was on the in-crease on 
the earth, which at last was all one vast 
sea. Those who were in the ark were safe. 
Those who were not, of men and beasts, 
were all drowned, even as the Lord had said. 

Hymx. 

Deep are the wounds which sin has made ; 

Where shall the sin-ner find a cure ? 
In vain, a-las, is na-ture's aid ; 

The work ex-ceeds her ut-most power. 

But can no sov-er-eign balm be found, 
And is no kind phy-si-cian nigh, 

To ease the pain, and heal the wound, 
Ere life and hope for-ev-er fly ? 

There is a great Phy-si-cian near ; 

Look up, faint- ing soul, and live ; 
See, in his heav-en-ly smiles, ap-pear 

Such help as na-ture can-not give. 



Questions ox Lesson VI. 

1. What was the name of the father of Noah? 

2. Whose son was Lamech ? 

3. How ma-ny sons had Noah ? 

4. What were the names of Noah's sons? 

5. Which was the oldest of Noah's sons ? 

6. Why is Shem put first ? 

7. Who promised that a Saviour should come ? 



OLD TESTAMENT. 33 

8. To whom was that promise made ? 

9. What do we now come to in this history ? 

10. Why did God threaten to send a deluge or flood? 

11. Were men's thoughts as well as actions wicked? 

12. What is said about the Lord's being grieved? 

13. What did God then say? 

14. What besides man was to be destroyed ? 

15. To whom did he make known what he intended 

to do? 

16. What sort of a man was Noah? 

1 7. In what did Noah resemble Enoch ? 

18. What did Noah find? 

19. What did God tell him to do ? 

20. What directions did the Lord give to Noah? 

21. What did Noah do? 

22. What was the ark like ? 

23. What did the Lord then say to Noah? 

24. Who besides Noah were to go into the ark ? 

25. What did he take besides living creatures ? 

26. Who shut them all in the ark? 

27. What is said of those who were not in the ark ? 

28. What had they not sought? 

29. Why did they not find grace in the sight of the 

Lord? 

30. What happened after the door of the ark was 

shut? 

31. How long did the waters of the flood continue to 

increase ? 

32. What did the whole earth at length become? 

33. Who were all safe ? 

34. What became of those who were not in the ark ? 

3 



34 BIBLE HISTORY. 

LESSON SEVENTH. 

THE OLIVE LEAF AND THE RAINBOW. 

So great was the flood, and so long did 
the rain fall, that not only was the earth one 
great sea, but the top of the high-est mount- 
ain was cov-ered. It was fif-teen cu-bits, or 
twen-ty-two and a half feet un-der wa-ter 
when the flood was at its height. It con- 
tinued in this state a hund-red and ten days, 
which, add-ed to the forty du-ring which the 
rain fell, make one hund-red and fif-ty. 

At the end of this time God made a great 
wind to pass over the earth, and the wa-ters 
be-gan to dry up. 

In a few days more the dry land be-gan 
to be seen by those who were in the ark as 
they looked out of its win-dows. The first 
land they saw was, of course, the tops of 
the high mount-ains. Then No-ah sent out 
a ra-ven, which flew a-bout and did not come 
back. 

A dove, which was sent forth at the same 
time, soon flew back to the ark and was 
ta-ken in. Poor thing! the sight of the 
world was so dis-mal that she could not 



OLD TESTAMEOT. 85 

bear it. At the end of a week she was sent 
out a-gain, and at night came back with an 
ol-ive leaf in her mouth. The sight of that 
leaf cheered the hearts of those who had 
been so long shut up in the ark, as by it 
they knew that the flood had dried up 
be-low the tops of the trees. 

In all ages the ol-ive has been used as the 
em-blem of peace; and the dove, from the 
time of No-ah, has been re-gard-ed wdth 
fa-vor and love. Here is a beau-ti-ful verse 
which you may get by heart: 

When first the Spir-it left the throne, 
He took the semb-lance of a dove ; 

A sym-bol cho-sen to make known 
His puri-ty, his grace and love. 

In a few days more they all came out of 
the ark. The first thing No-ah did was to 
build an al-tar, and give praise to the God 
who had been with them in the ark. Then 
the Lord said, The earth shall nev-er a-gain 
be de-stroyed by a flood. While the earth 
re-main-eth, seed-time and har-vest, and cold 
and heat, and sum-mer and win-ter, and day 
and nig^ht shall not cease. In to-ken of this 
proin-ise God said, I do set my bow in the 
cloud ; and when we see a rain-bow, it 



36 BIBLE HISTORY. 

ought to re-mind us of God's just-ice in 
send-ing a flood to pun-ish the wick-ed, and 
of his mer-cy in de-clar-ing that nev-er shall 
the race of men be thus de-stroyed a-gain. 

The life of Xo-ah was the lon-gest of any 
re-cord-ed in the Bi-ble, ex-cept that of 
Me-thu-se-lah. He liv-ed nine hund-red and 
fif-ty years. 

Hymn. 

Glo-ry to God a-bove ! 

The wa-ters soon will cease ; 
For lo ! the swift re-turn-ing dove 

Brings home the sign of peace. 

Though storms his face ob-scure, 

And dan-gers threat-en loud, 
Je-ho-vah's cov-e-nant is sure, 

His bow is in the cloud. 



Questions on Lesson VII. 

1. How great and universal was the flood? 

2. How many cubits was the water above the highest 

mountain ? 

3. How many feet in fifteen cubits ? 

4. How long did the flood continue at its height? 

5. How many days from the first rain to the end of 

the flood ? 

6. What passed over the earth at this time ? 



OLD TESTAMENT. 37 

7. Who sent this wind? 

8. What effect had it? 

9. What began to be seen in a few days? 

1 0. Who saw the dry land ? 

11. How did they see out of the ark? 

12. What was the first land they saw? 

13. What did Xoah send out of the ark? 

14. What became of the raven ? 

15. What was sent forth at the same time? 

16. What did the dove do? 

17. Why did the dove come back to the ark? 

18. What happened at the end of a week? 

19. What did she bring with her on her return? 

20. Why did the olive leaf cheer the hearts of those in 
the ark? 

21. Of what is the olive an emblem? 

22. How is the dove regarded? 

23. Can you repeat the verse about the Holy Spirit? 

24. What happened soon after ? 

25. What was Noah's first act on coming out of the 

ark? 

26. What did the Lord then say? 

27. What token of his promise did God then give? 

28. Of what promise is the rainbow a token? 

29. Of what should the rainbow remind us? 

30. How many years did Noah live? 

31. Is his the longest life mentioned in the Bible? 



38 BIBLE HISTORY. 

LESSON EIGHTH. 

THE TOWER OF BABEL. 

And now we look on a new world. 
When No-ah and those who were with him 
came forth from the ark, they found that 
the flood had made a great change in all 
things. The world was not as it came at first 
from the hands of God who made it, but 
bore the marks of the curse which fell on it 
for the sins of men. 

And the Lord met with No-ah and bless- 
ed him and his sons. He gave to them the 
same rights which, at first, he gave to 
Ad-am, and said, The fear of you and the 
dread of you shall be on all the beasts of 
the earth, and all the fowls of the air, and on 
all the fish of the sea. 

He al-so gave them leave to eat flesh; for 
up to this time men had lived on fruits and 
things that grow in the earth. But now God 
said, All things that live I give to you for food. 

At this time, too, the Lord made it a law 
that he w r ho kills a man shall be put to 
death. He said, He who sheds man's 
blood, bv man shall his blood be phed. 



OLD TESTAMENT. 39 

At length the time came for No-ah to die. 
He lived after the flood three hund-red and 
fif-ty years; and as he was six hund-red 
years of age when he went in-to the ark, he 
was, of course, nine hund-red and fif-ty when 
he died. 

For a great ma-ny years the sons of No-ah 
dwelt in the plains of Shi-nar. There they 
and their chil-dren in-creased in number, 
and, in course of time, be-came a great na- 
tion. 

In a few years af-ter the death of No-ah, 
they be-came proud and threw off the fear 
of God. They be-came ver-y wick-ed, al- 
most as bad as those who lived be-fore the 
flood. 

At length, a-bout two hund-red and fif-ty 
years af-ter the death of No-ah, they a-greed 
to build a high tow-er. They said, Let us 
make brick and burn them, and let us build 
a tow-er whose top may reach to heav-en. 
This shows that they did not know much 
a-bout the shape of the world, and that they 
had fool-ish no-tions. 

Some think that they meant this tow-er 
to be a place for an i-dol which they might 
wor-ship in-stead of the true God. They 
had built up the tow-er to a great height, 



40 BIBLE HISTORY. 

when God, it is said, came down to see it. 
And then a very strange thing was done. 
God caused them, while at their work, to 
speak many lan-gua-ges. 

Up to this time they were all of one 
speech; but now they spoke in so ma-ny 
and such strange tongues, that they could 
not tell what one an-oth-er meant. This 
broke up their un-ion, and they left off their 
work on the tow-er. Then they fell in-to 
par-ties with chiefs at the head of each, and 
some went one way, and some an-oth-er. 

In pro-cess of time the chil-dren of Shem 
oc-cu-pied Asia ; the chil-dren of Ham Afri- 
ca ; and the chil-dren of Ja-pheth Eu-rope. 

The name of that tow-er is called Ba-bel, 
be-cause there the Lord did con-found the 
lan-gua-ges of all the earth, and scat-ter them 
a-broad on the face of all the earth. 

Hymn. 

My days are short-er than a span, 

A lit-tle point my life ap-pears ; 
How frail at best is dy-ing man ! 

How vain are all his hopes and fears I 

Yain his am-bi-t'ion. noise, and show ; 

Yain are the cares which rack his mind. 
He heaps up treas-ures mixed with woe. 

And them all behind. 



OLD TESTAMENT. 41 

be a no-bler por-tion mine ! 

My God, I bow be-fore thy throne ! 
Earth's fleet-ing treas-ures I re-sign, 

And fix my hope on thee a-lone. 



Questions on Lesson VIII. 

1. On what do we now look ? 

2. What did Noah find when he came out of the 

ark? 

3. What had the deluge done ? 

4. What was not as it came from the hands of its 

Maker? 

5. Of what did the world bear the marks ? 

6. Why was the world cursed? 

7. Who then met with Noah and his sons? 

8. What did the Lord do to them? 

9. What rights did he give to Noah and his sons? 

10. What did he say? 

11. What did he also give them leave to do? 

12. On what had people lived previous to this time-? 

13. What did God say on this subject? 

14. What law did the Lord now make? 

15. Can you repeat what he said ? 

16. For what did the time at length come? 

17. How long after the flood did Noah live? 

18. How old was he when he entered the ark? 

19. How old was he when he died? 

20. Where did the sons of Noah live after his death? 

21. What is said of them while on the plains of Shi- 

nar? 

22. How wicked did they become? 



42 BIBLE HISTORY. 

23. What did they agree to build? 

24. How long was this after the death of Noah? 

25. Of what did they propose to build the tower? 

26. How did they intend to procure bricks? 

27. How high did they design to make their tower? 

28. Could such a thing be done? 

29. What is the opinion of some on this subject? 

30. Who came down to see the tower ? 

31. What miracle was then performed? 

32. Up to this time how many languages were spoken 
in the world? 

33. What broke up their union? 

34. What did they then fall into? 

35. What part of the world did the children of Shem 

occupy ? 

36. Of Ham? 

37. Of Japheth? 

38. What was the name of that unfinished tower 

called? 

39. Why was it called Babel? 



+•» 



LESSON NINTH. 

ABEAM AND LOT. 

The first king of whom we hear was 
Nim-rod. By him was built the cit-y of 
Bab-y-lon, on a piece of land near the tow-er 
of Ba-bel. in the plains of Shi-nar. To this 



OLD TESTAMENT. 43 

day it is said there is to be seen a mound 
which is thought to be the re-mains of that 

build-ing. . 

And now there is a long time in which 
there is no ac-count of what took place in the 
world. We pass on to the days of A-bram. 
He was born two years after the death of 
No-ah, in a cit-y called TJr, but we do not 
hear of A-bram un-til he was more than 
three-score and ten years of age. It is thought 
that he was at first an i-dol-a-ter, as were all 
the men a-mong whom he lived. They 
wor-shiped the stars. 

By some means, we know not how, 
A-bram was taught to know the true God ; 
and to the end of his fife he had faith in 
him and served him. He is called in the 
Bi-ble the fa-ther of the faith-ful and the 
friend of God. 

One day, while A-bram was yet in Ur, 
the cit-y of his birth, the Lord made known 
to him his will that he should leave his 
home and his friends and go to a strange 
land, of which I, said the Lord, will show 
thee. He knew not where he was to go, 
and did not stop to ask. He knew that 
God would lead him right and take care of 
him. 



44 BIBLE HISTORY. 

So he went forth with his wife, whose 
name was Sa-ra, and Lot, his neph-ew. On 
their way, with their flocks, they came to a 
place called Ha-ran. Here they made a 
stop and put up tents in which to live. 
They thought, at first, that this was the 
spot where God meant them to live. 

In a short time the Lord made known his 
will that they should not stay in Ha-ran; 
that was not the land of which he had told 
them. Then God gave to A-bram the prom- 
ise that he should be the fa-ther of a great 
na-tion, and that in him should all the fami- 
lies of the earth be blessed. That prom-ise 
re-ferred to Je-sus Christ. 

In the New Tes-ta-ment we are told that 
when Je-sus was in our world he said to 
the Jews, Your fa-ther A-bram was glad to 
see my day. He saw the day of Christ, not 
as those who were on earth saw it when 
Christ was a-mong men ; but he saw it by 
faith. Pie had faith in the prom-ise of God, 
and that gave him as great joy as if Christ 
had al-rea-dy come, for he knew and felt 
that God's word was true and could not 
fail. 



OLD TESTAMENT. 45 



Hymn. 

We r ve no a-bid-ing cit-y here ; 

We seek a cit-y out of sight ; 
Zi-on its name ; the Lord is there, 

It shines with ev-er-last-ing light, 

sweet a-bode of peace and love, 
When pil-grims freed from toil are blest; 

Had I the swift wings of the dove, 
I'd fly to thee and be at rest. 

But hush, my soul! nor dare re-pine; 

The time that God ap-points is best; 
While here, to do his will be mine, 

And his to fix my time of rest. 



Questions on Lesson IX. 

1. Who was the first king of whom we read in the 

Bible ? 

2. What city did he build ? 

3. Where was Babylon situated? 

I What may be seen even to the present day ? 

5. Of what is that mound thought to be the remains ? 

6*. What is there of which we have no account. 

7. To what do we pass on ? 

8. In what year of the world was Abram born ? (2008.) 
9' How long was that after the death of Noah? 

lo! What was the name of the city in which Abram 

was born ? 
11. How old was he when we first hear of him? 



46 BIBLE HISTORY. 

12. What were the people among whom Abram 

lived ? 

13. What did they worship? 

14. Was Abram an idolater ? 

15. Whom was Abram taught to know ? 

16. What was Abram's character to the end of his 

life? 

17. What is Abram called in the Bible? 

18. What did the Lord tell Abram to do? 

19. Where was Abram at this time? 

20. Did Abram obey God ? 

21. Why did he go forth? 

22. Who went with him ? 

23. What was Abram's wife's name ? 

24. What was the name of the place where they first 

stopped ? 

25. In what did they live ? 

26. What did they think at first? 

27. Why did they not stay in Haran? 

28. What promise did God then give to Abram? 

29. What did that promise refer to ? 

30. What are we told in the New Testament? 

31. How did Abram see the day of Christ ? 

32. In what had Abram faith ? 

33. What did he know and feel ? 



OLD TESTAMENT. 47 



LESSON TENTH. 

SODOM ATTD GOMORRAH. 

It was at the time when God made the 
great prom-is-es to A-bram that he changed 
his name. This was done by add-ing to it 
the let-ter H. It was at first A-bram ; 
now and ev-er after it is to be A-bra- 
ham. 

When A-bra-ham had been but a few 
years in the land of Ca-naan there was a 
great fam-ine, and he and his fam-i-ly were 
in want of bread, This is the first fam-ine 
of which we have any ac-count. Mo-ses 
says it was a griev-ous fam-ine. But the 
good man's faith in God did not fail. He 
knew that all things work to-geth-er for 
good to them that love God. 

All through his life, in each place where 
he dwelt, or pitched his tent for e-ver so 
short a time, A-bra-ham built an al-tar 
and wor-shiped God. He did this when all 
around him wor-shiped i-dols. And God 
con-tin-ued to bless him ; he grew rich in 
flocks and herds, which were at thattimethe 
source of wealth. 



48 BIBLE HISTORY. 

And now was seen one of the e-vils that 
a-rise from great rich-es. The herds-men, 
that is, the men who took care of the cat-tie 
of A-bra-ham, quar-reled with those who 
had charge of the cat-tie which be-longed tp 
his neph-ew Lot. A-bra-ham was a man of 
peace, and when he heard of it he said, 
Let there be no strife, I pray thee, be-tween 
us. There is room for us both. If thou 
w^ilt take the left hand, then I will go to the 
right ; or if thou de-part to the right hand, 
then I will go to the left. 

The choice be-ing thus giv-en to Lot, he 
left his un-cle, and took with him all that he 
had, and went and dwelt near two cit-ies, 
the peo-ple of which were ver-y wick-ed. 
The names of those cit-ies were Sod-om 
and Go-mor-rah. 

In a short time af-ter he had left A-bra- 
ham, Lot and his fam-i-ly were made prison- 
ers by a band of rob-bers. Their goods 
were ta-ken from them, and they were led 
a-wayas slaves. A-bra-ham heard of it, and 
armed him-self and his serv-ants and went in 
pur-suit. He soon came up with the rob- 
bers, fought them, and made them give up 
the spoils they had stol-en and re-lease their 
pris-on-ers. But Lot did not live a great 



OLD TESTAMENT. 49 

while in the land of which he had made 
choice. The men who lived there were 
very wick-ed, and God de-ter-mined to de- 
stroy them. Two an-gels came to warn Lot 
to leave the place, which he did with all his 
fam-i-ly. They were told to flee as fast as 
they could, and not e-ven to look be-hind them. 
Lot's wife did look be-hind her to see the 
end of the cit-ies of the plain which were 
de-stroyed by fire from heav-en; and as she 
gazed upon the burn-ing cit-ies she be-came a 
pil-lar of salt. Je-sus, when he speaks of 
this sad affair says to us all, Me-mem-ber 
Lot's wife. 

Hymn. 

Like the ea-gle, up-ward, sun-ward, 

Let my soul in faith be borne ; 
Calm-ly gaz-ing, sky-ward, sun-ward, 

Let mine eye, un-shrink-ing, turn. 

Where the cross, God's love re-veal-ing, 

Sets the fet-tered spir-it free, 
Where it sheds its wond-rous heal-ing, 

There, my soul, thy rest shall be. 

O may I no lon-ger, dream-ing, 

I-dly waste my gold-en day, 
But, each pre-cious hour re-deem-ing, 

Up-ward, on-ward, press my way. 
4 



50 BIBLE HISTORY. 



Questions on Lesson X. 

1. Who changed Abram's name ? 

2. At what time was this change made ? 

3. How was it done ? 

4. What happened when Abraham had been a few 

years in Canaan ? 

5. Of what were he and his family in want ? 

6. What is said of this famine ? 

7. What does Moses call it? 

8. What is said of Abraham's faith at this time ? 

9. What did he know ? 

10. Can you tell where that passage of Scripture is 

found? 

11. What did Abraham do in all places where he tar- 

ried? 

12. What did those around him frequently worship? 

13. What did God continue to do ? 

14. In what did Abraham grow rich ? 

15. What was the source of riches at that time. 

16. What is next seen? 

17. Who quarreled? 

18. What did Abraham say when he heard of it ? 

19. Did he give Lot the choice of the land ? 

20. What did Lot then do? 

21. What were the names of the cities where Lot 

dwelt? 

22. What happened shortly after this? 

23. What was taken from them? 

24. How were they led away ? 

25. What did Abraham do when he heard of it? 

26. What did he do to the robbers. 



OLD TESTAMENT. 51 

27. Did Lot live a great while in that land? 

28. What was the character of the men who lived 

there ? 

29. Who determined to destroy them? 

30. For what purpose did angels come to Lot? 

31. What were they told not to do? 

32. Who did look behind? 

33. What became of her ? 

34. What does Jesus say about Lot's wife? 

35. Do you know where that is said? (Lukexvii, 32.) 



-*♦♦- 



LESSON ELEVENTH. 

THE DEAD SEA. 

In the south-east part of Ca-naan, or the 
Ho-ly Land, as it is called, is a large lake 
of wa-ter known by the name of the Dead 
Sea. It is a-bout for-ty miles long, and 
from eight to ten wide. The wa-ter is ver-y 
salt and bit-ter. 

On the banks of the lake are trees which 
bear a kind of fruit known as the ap-ples of 
Sod-om. These ap-ples are yel-low when 
ripe, and look like or-anges ; but they are 
not fit to eat, and when squeezed in th« 
hand are found to be hol-low. The land a^ 
round the lake is rough and bar-re* 



62 



BIBLE HISTORY/. 




THE DEAD SEA SEEN FROM THE NORTH. 

Thorns and stunt-ed shrubs grow there; 
but hard-ly any green thing is to be seen. 
It looks like a place on which rests the 
curse of God; and those who have been to 
see it say that they feel when there as if 
they were on a spot which will ev-er be a 
proof of one great e-vent of which we read 
in the Bi-ble. 

That e-vent is the fact that God sent fire 
from heav-en, and de-stroyed the ci-ty of 



OLD TESTAMENT. 53 

Sod-om and oth-er cit-ies known as the 
Cit-ies of the Plain. This is the spot on 
which they once stood. It is now cov-ered 
by this lake. 

All those who lived in those cit-ies were 
sud-den-ly de-stroyed, ex-cept on-ly Lot and 
his two daugh-ters. His wife, as we saw, 
might have been saved ; but she did not 
mind what the an-gels had told her, and 
stopped to look back. The sons and sons- 
in-law of Lot were in-vit-ed to flee w T ith him 
that they too might be saved, but they 
would not. They made sport of the good 
man, and did not be-lieve what he said. He 
seemed as one that mocked. 

Like the men to whom E-noch preached, 
or those who heard the warn-ing voice of 
No-ah, they gave no heed to Lot. Like 
them how ma-ny, in our own day, hear the 
word of the Lord as it is preached from 
time to time, but heed it not ! 

Like that sud-den ru-in which fell on the 
men of that day will it be when the Son of 
man, Je-sus, comes to judge the world. So 
he him-self tells us. He will come with 
clouds, and ev-er-y eye shall see him; and 
all who have not re-pent-ed will weep and 
wail when he com-eth t 



54 BIBLE HISTORY. 

He will come at a time when men think 
not of him. As it was in that day, they did 
eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, 
they plant-ed, they build-ed; and at an hour 
when they thought not, the storm of fire fell 
up-on them. So will it be when the Son of 
man shall come to judge the world. Then 
the whole earth will be on fire. All things 
in it will be burnt up. Then those who do 
not know and fear God will be turned in-to 
hell, while those who love him will be safe 
and hap-py, and so re-main for-ev-er. 

Hymn. 

Day of Judg-ment — day of won-ders ! 

Hark ! the trum-pet's aw-ful sound, 
Loud-er than ten thou-sand thun-ders, 

Shakes the vast cre-a-tion round. 
How the sum-mons 

Will the sin-ner's heart con-found! 

See the Judge our na-ture wear-ing, 

Clothed in maj-es-ty di-vine. 
Tou, who long for his ap-pear-ing, 

Then shall say, "This God is miner' 
Gra-cious Sav-iour, 

Own me in that day for thine ! 



OLD TESTAMENT. 55 



Questions on Lesson XI. 

1. What is the land of Canaan sometimes called ? 

2. What is the name of that lake of which we read ? 

3. In what part of the Holy Land is it ? 

4. What is the length of the lake ? 

5. What is its width? 

6. What is said of the water of the lake? 

7. What grow on the banks of the lake ? 

8. What kind of fruit do they bear ? 

9. What do these apples resemble in appearance? 

10. Why are they not fit to eat? 

11. What is the character of the land around the 

lake? 

12. What grow there? 

13. What are seldom seen? 

14. What does the place look like? 

15. What do travelers who have visited it say? 

16. Of what event does it seem to be a proof? 
1*1. What once stood where the lake now is? 

18. What became of those who lived in those cities? 

19. Who only were saved? 

20. Why was not Lot's wife saved? 

21. Who were invited to flee with Lot? 

22. Why were they not saved? 

23. What did Lot seem like to them? 

24. How was it with the men to whom Enoch 

preached ? 

25. How with those to whom Noah preached? 

26. How is it with many who hear the Gospel now? 

27. How will it be when Jesus Christ comes to 

judge the world? 



56 BIBLE HISTORY. 

28. Who tells us about these things? 

29. How will Christ come? 

30. At what time will he come? 

31. How were men employed when fire fell from 

heaven on Sodom? 

32. What will be on tire at that day? 

33. What will become of those who do not fear God ? 

34. Who will be safe and happy forever? 



-♦♦♦- 



LESSON TWELFTH. 
THE TRIAL OF ABRAHAM'S FAITH. 

A-bout a year after the sad end of the 

cit-ies of the plain, I-saac was born. He 
was the son whom God had prom-ised to 
A-bra-ham, and he was very dear both to 
him and to Sa-rah, his moth-er. 

And it came to pass, says Mo-ses, that 
God did tempt or try A-bra-ham. A voice 
came to him which he knew to be the voice 
of the Lord; and it said, Take now thy son, 
thine on-ly son whom thou lov-est, and put 
him to death ! How strange that was ! 
How could it be? And how many ob-jec- 
tions might be made? 

But A-bra-ham did not stop to rea-son. 
He knew thit what God di-rects to bf* done 



OLD TESTAMENT. 57 

must be right. So ear-ly the next morn-ing 
he and I-saac go forth, and at length reach 
the spot of which God told them. 

It seems that I-saac did not know why 
they had come there. He thought it was 
to sac-ri-fice a lamb, and he said, My fa-ther, 
here I see the fire, and the wood, but where 
is the lamb ? O what a ques-tion that was ! 
And his fa-ther said, God will pro-vide a 
lamb. 

But now the time came when I-saac must 
be told that he was the lamb to be put to 
death. And when he knew that such was 
the com-mand of God, he did not re-fuse, 
but al-lowed his fa-ther to lay him on the 
al-tar and to bind him there. 

And now, as we may well sup-pose, a-mid 
their tears the last fare-well is spo-ken, the 
last kiss is <nv-en. Thev think they are to 
part now, no more to meet un-til they shall 
meet in heav-en. A-bra-ham takes the 
knife, and lifts his hand to slay his son. 

Just then God's voice is heard, which 
bids him stay his hand. The Lord ac-cepts 
the will for the deed, and says, Now I 
know that thou fear-est God, since thou 
hast not with-held thy son, thine on-ly son, 
from me. A glnd hour was that for them 



58 BIBLE HISTORY. 

both, and they went home full of thanks 
and praises to God. 

Two things were shown by this act of 
A-bra-ham. The first was the pow-er of 
faith. It was be-cause he did be-lieve in 
God that A-bra-ham was a-ble to go forth 
and to give up his dear son to die. And 
hence we learn what true faith, the faith of 
A-bra-ham, is. It is a clear as-sur-ance that 
God will do all things well; and it shows it- 
self by do-ing what God tells us to do. 

Then a-gain, this tri-al of A-bra-ham's 
faith was to show him the man-ner in 
which, in due time, God's prom-ise would 
be ful-filled, and all the fam-i-lies of the 
earth would be blessed in him. As A-bra- 
ham was will-ing to give his son to die, so 
in due time our heav-en-ly Fa-ther spared 
not his own Son, but free-ly gave him up for 
us all. To those who had the writ-ings of 
Mos-es there was seen, in this act of A-bra- 
ham, a fig-ure of the of-fer-ing up of Christ 
for the sins of the world. It was but a fig- 
ure. To us God has made known the re-al-i- 
ty; and to us there comes a voice call-ing 
our at-ten-tion a-way from I-saac, and say- 
ing, Be-hold the Lamb of God, who ta-keth 
a-wav the sins of the world. 



OLD TESTAMENT. 59 



Hymn. 

Fa-ther of Je-sus Christ, my Lord, 
My Sav-iour, and ray Head ; 

I trust in thee, whose pow-er-ful word 
Hath raised him from the dead. 

Thy rec-ord, Lord, I would be-lieve ; 

In A-bra-ham's foot-steps tread, 
That I may gra-cious-ly re-ceive 

The Christ, the prom-ised seed. 



Questions on Lesson XII. 

1. How long after the destruction of Sodom was 

Isaac born ? 

2. Whose son was Isaac ? 

3. What was his mother's name? 

4. To whom was Isaac very dear ? 

5. What does Moses say then came to pass ? 

6. Whose voice came to Abraham ? 

7. What did the voice say ? 

8. What is said of that voice ? 

9. Why did not Abraham stop to reason? 

10. When did Abraham and Isaac go forth? 

11. Who told them of the place where the sacrifice was 

to be made ? 

12. For what object did Isaac think they went there? 

13. What did he then say? 

14. What reply did Abraham make ? 

15. When Isaac knew that he was the lamb, how did 

he act? 



60 BIBLE HISTORY. 

16. What may we well suppose then happened ? 

17. What do the father and son think? 

18. What does Abraham then do? 
19 What is heard just then? 

20. What does that voice bid him do ? 

21. What is accepted by the Lord? 

22. What does he then say? 

23. What were their feelings then ? 

24. What is first mentioned as shown by this act of 

Abraham ? 

25. How was Abraham able to give up his son to die? 

26. What is true faith? 

27. How is it shown? 

28. What was shown to Abraham by this trial of his 

faith? 

29. What is said of our heavenly Father? 

30. What was seen in this act of Abraham? 

31. What has God made known to us? 

32. What comes to us? 

33. From what does it call us ? 

34. What does it say? 



-♦♦♦- 



LESSON THIRTEENTH. 

FIRST QUARTERLY REVISION. 

We have now been three months in our 
study of the Bible. For to-day's les-son 
we go back and re-view what has been 
learned. Some of the ques-tioas we now 



OLD TESTAMENT. 61 

ask are the same as have been asked be- 
fore. Oth-ers will be found not so eas-y, 
and will re-quire more stud-y. To all of 
them you will find an-swers in the Bi-ble if 
you look for them. 

1. What was the state of the earth when it 

was first made? (Gen. i, 2.) 

2. What was there on the face of the 

deep? 

3. What moved on the face of the wa- 

ters? 

4. By what name did God call the dry 

land? (Gen. i, 10.) 

5. What was the great light that God 

made to rule the day ? 

6. What do you call the less-er light ? 

7. Of what did God form man's body? 

8. What re-ply did Ad-am make when the 

Lord said, Where art thou? (Gen. 
iii, 10.) 

9. What did Eve say when the Lord said 

to her, What hast thou done ? 

10. Who made coats of skins for Ad-am and 

Eve? (Gen. iii, 21.) 

11. What did Cain say when the Lord 

asked him, Where is A-bel, thy 
bro-ther ? 



62 BIBLE HISTORY. 

12. What did Lam-ech say when he gave 

his son the name No-ah ? 

13. Whose son was Shem? 

14. What oth-er sons had No-ah? 

15. When, and in what w T ords, did God 

make the first prom-ise of a Sav-iour? 
(Gen. hi, 15.) 

16. Of what kind of wood was the ark 

made? (Gen. vi, 14.) 

17. What was the length of the ark? 

18. How old was No-ah when the flood 

came? 

19. What did No-ah build when he came 

out of the ark ? 

20. What did the Lord say a-bout cold and 

heat, and day and night ? 

21. Will this w r orld ev-er be de-stroyed 

a-gain by a flood? (Gen. viii, 22.) 

22. What did God say of the fear and dread 

of No-ah and his sons ? 

23. Of what is the bow in the cloud a 

token ? 

24. Who was the fa-ther of A bram ? (Gen. 

xi, 27.) 

25. What was the name of Lot's fa-ther? 

26. In what eit-y was A-bram born? 

27. What did God say he would do to those 

who blessed A-bram ? 



OLD TESTAMENT. 63 

28. In-to what land did A-bram and Lot 

come? 

29. In what di-rec-tion did Lot trav-el when 

he left A-bram ? 

30. What did A-bram build in He-bron ? 

31. State some of God's prom-is-es to 

A-bram ? 

32. How and by whom was A-bram's name 

changed? (Gen. xvii, 5.) 

33. What rea-son does God give for the 

change of A-bram's name ? 

34. What land did God prom-ise to give to 

A-bra-ham ? 

35. Who changed the name of A-bra-ham's 

wife? 

36. What change was made in her name ? 

37. Who prayed to the Lord to spare the 

men of Sod-om ? 

38. How old was A-bra-ham when his son 

I-saac was born ? 

39. What did A-bra-ham sac-ri-fice to the 

Lord in-stead of his son ? 

40. Who is the Lamb of God that ta-keth 

a- way the sins of the world ? (John 
i, 29.) 



64 BIBLE HISTORY. 



Hymn. 

Holy and reverend is the name 

Of our eternal king. 
Thrice holy Lord, the angels cry; 

Thrice holy let us sing. 

Holy is he in all his, works, 

And truth is his delight ; 
But sinners and their wicked ways 

Shall perish from his sight. 

The deepest reverence of the mind, 

Pay, my soul, to G-od ; 
Lift with thy hands a holy heart 

To his sublime abode. 

With sacred awe pronounce his name 
Whom words nor thoughts can reach ; 

A broken heart shall please him more 
Than the best forms of speech. 

Thou holy God ! preserve my soul 

From all pollution free ; 
The pure in heart are thy delight, 

And they thy face shall see. 



OLD TESTAMENT. 65 

LESSON FOURTEENTH. 

THE DEATH OF ABRAHAM. 

Isaac had a brother older than himself, 
whose name was Ishmael. He became a 
great hunter, and a chief of a tribe of wan- 
dering Arabs. It is said that to this day 
the natives of Arabia talk of Ishmael as 
their first great chief, and we often read 
about Ishmaelites in the Bible ; but the 
greater part of it relates to Isaac, who was 
the child of promise, and to his sons. 

About four years after the great trial of 
Abraham's faith, his wife Sarah, the mother 
of Isaac, died. She was a good wife and a 
kind mother, and she is spoken of in the 
New Testament as a model for all good 
women. She had been the wife of Abra- 
ham sixty-two years, and had borne her share 
in all his joys and trials. He mourned and 
wept, the Bible says, when she died; and he 
bought of the sons of Heth a new cave, in 
which her body was laid. 

Three years after this Isaac was married. 
His wife's name was Rebekah. She was 
the daughter of Bethuel, and one of th£ 

5 



66 BIBLE HISTORY. 

longest chapters in the Bible is taken up 
with an account of this marriage. 

And now we reach the hour when the 
good old Abraham must go the way of all 
the earth. His last years were spent in 
peace. At the close of a life full of trials 
and cares, it is good to look upon him as 
his end draws nigh. Like the sun, as he 
sets when the day is done, so "the father 
of the faithful and the friend of God" calm- 
ly sinks to his rest. But like the suh he 
shall rise again. 

He was one hundred and seventy-five 
years old when he died, and his sons Isaac 
and Ishmael placed his body in the same 
cave where Sarah his wife was buried. 
This was in a field, near a place called 
Hebron. 

Not a great deal that is interesting is 
found in the life of Isaac. He was a man 
of a meek and quiet spirit. His greatest 
honor was that he was chosen to be a type 
of Christ ; and that in the act of Abraham, 
his father, when he went with him up the 
mount and bound him on the altar, there 
was seen a figure of the sacrifice in due time 
to be made for the sins of the world. As 
Isaac had done no wrong for which he was 



OLD TESTAMENT. 67 

to be put to death by the hand of his father, 
so in Christ there was found no guile. He was 
a lamb without spot — the Lamb of God which 
taketh away the sins of the world. It was the 
same in both cases, that each was a willing 
victim. Isaac might have refused to die, or 
even to be bound on the altar ; and Christ 
says, Lo, I come to do thy will. No 
man taketh my life from me. I have power 
to lay down my life, and I have power to 
take it again. 

Hymn. 

Come, let us sing the song of songs ; 

The saints in heaven began the strain; 
The homage which to Christ belongs: 

Worthy the Lamb, for he was slain! 

Slain to redeem us by his blood, 
To cleanse from every sinful stain, 

And make us kings and priests to God: 
Worthy the Lamb, for he was slain I 

Long as we live, and when we die, 

And while in heaven with him we reign, 

This song our song of songs shall be, 
Worthy the Lamb, for he was slain I 



BB BIBLE HISTORY. 



Questions oisr Lesson XTV. 

1. ^What was the name of Isaac's brother? 

2. Which was the older of the two brothers'? 

3. Who became a great hunter? 

4. Of what did Ishmael become a chief? 

5. What is said of the natives of Arabia? 

6. Where do we read about Ishmaelites? 

7. Who was the child of promise? 

8. What was the name of Isaac's mother? 

9. When did she die? 

10. What was her character? 

11. How is Sarah spoken of in the New Testament? 

12. How long had she been the wife of Abraham? 

13. What does the Bible say of Abraham when she 

died? 

14. Where was Sarah buried? 

15. How long after the death of Sarah when Isaac 

married ? 

16. What was the name of his wife? 
IT. Whose daughter was she? 

18. How were the last years in the life of Abraham 

spent ? 

19. Of what is his life said to have been full? 

20. To what is his end compared? 

21. How old was Abraham at his death? 

22. By whom was he buried? 

23. And where? 

24. Near what place was this cave ? 

25. What is said of the life of Isaac? 

26. What was his character? 

27. What was his Greatest honor? 



OLD TESTAMENT. 69 

2& Of what was his being offered on the altar a figure? 
2Sl In what respect did Isaac resemble Christ ? 
3d What does Christ say of himself? 



-♦♦♦- 



LESSON FIFTEENTH. 

JACOB A]ST> ESAU. 

The two sons of Isaac were Esau, who 
was a hunter, and Jacob, w r ho was a shep- 
herd. Esau was the first-born, and was 
the favorite of his father; but the mother 
was more partial to her younger son, Jacob. 

One day Esau had been out hunting, and 
came home tired and hungry. He asked 
his brother to give him some food; but 
Jacob would not do it unless Esau would 
give him, in return for it, his birthright, 
that is, the right which belonged to the first- 
born. This was not kind in Jacob; but 
Esau was very hungry, and, as the apostle 
tells us, for one morsel of meat sold his 
birthright. This birthright included a double 
portion of the father's property, the right of 
becoming chief of his tribe, and the priestly 
office, which at that time belonged to the 
oldest son. 



70 BIBLE HISTORY. 

But Jacob acted still more unkindly to 
his brother. Their father was sick and 
blind, an old man, who thought he should 
soon die. One day he told Esau to go and 
get him some savory meat, that he might 
bless him before he died. 

While Esau was gone to the field to do 
as his father told him, Jacob brought two 
kids from his flock to his mother, who made 
of them such food as Isaac loved. 

Dressed in a suit of Esau's clothes, Jacob 
brought the food to his father, who, being 
blind, did not see who it was, but was 
made to think that it was his first-born son. 
Jacob indeed said, I am thy son Esau. I 
have done as thou desired; arise, I pray 
thee, and eat of my venison, that thy soul 
may bless me. Thus the poor old man was 
imposed upon, and Jacob got the blessing 
that he meant for Esau. 

This was very wicked on the part of Ja- 
cob, and one cannot help feeling sorry for 
Esau, who had thus lost the blessing. It is 
said he lifted up his voice and wept, and 
said, Hast thou but one blessing, O my 
father ? Bless me, even me also. 

But this could not be done, as, by the 
customs of that age, when the father had 



OLD TESTAMENT. 71 

solemnly blessed one son, the blessing could 
not be recalled or altered. 

Then Esau was very angry, and said he 
would kill his brother Jacob as soon as their 
father died. 

When Rebekah, their mother, heard this, 
she requested Jacob to leave his home, and 
get out of Esau's way. Go, said she, to your 
uncle Laban, and stay a few days with him, 
until your brother forget his anger, and I 
will send and fetch you home. 

Poor woman ! She had helped her son to 
cheat his father, and now she sends him 
away, as she thinks, for a few days; but she 
will never see him again. Before his return 
she will have gone the way of all the earth. 

Hymn. 

The Lord is in his holy place, 

And from his throne on high 
He looks upon the human race 

With omnipresent eye. 
He proves the righteous, marks their path ; 

In him the weak are strong ; 
But violence provokes his wrath, 

The Lord abhorreth wrong. 
The righteous Lord will take delight 

Alone in righteousness ; 
The just are pleasing in his sight, 

The humble, he will bless. 



72 BIBLE HISTORY. 



Questions on Lesson XY. 

1. How many sons had Isaac? 

2. What were their names? 

3. What did Esau do for a livelihood ? 

4. What was Jacob ? 

5. Which was the elder son ? 

6. Whose favorite was he ? 

?. Which was the favorite son of his mother? 

8. What had Esau been doing when he came* horn* 

tired and hungry ? 

9. What did he ask of his brother? 

10. Did Jacob give him food? 

11. What did he demand in return for the food? 

12. What is said of Jacob's conduct on this occasion? 

13. What does the apostle say about Esau? 

14. What was included in this birthright? 

15. To whom did the priestly office at this time bo- 

long? 

1 6. What is further said of Jacob ? 

17. What was the state of their father's health at this 

time? 

18. What did he request Esau to do? 

19. While Esau was gone to the field what did Jacob 

do? 

20. Who prepared the food from the kids which Jacob 

brought? 

21. How was Jacob dressed when he did this? 

22. Why did not Isaac detect the imposition? 

23. Did Jacob also tell an untruth ? 

24. What did he say? 

25. Did he succeed in obtaining the blessing? 



OLD TESTAMENT. 73 

26. What was the conduct of Esau on the occasion ? 

27. Why could not his father bless him also? 

28. What did Esau then threaten to do? 

29. Who heard his threats? 

30. Where did Rebekah send Jacob? 

31. What was the name of Jacob's uncle? 

32. What had Rebekah helped Jacob to do? 

33. In what respect was she mistaken? 



-♦♦♦- 



LESSON SIXTEENTH, 

JACOB'S VISION. 

We come now to a most remarkable 
event in the life of Jacob. He leaves his 
home, as his mother directed, alone and 
secretly, for fear of his brother Esau. He 
had with him but a staff to walk with as he 
goes on his way. 

The journey from his home to Padan 
Aram, where his uncle lived, was about 
four hundred and fifty miles. The road 
was rough and dreary. As he passed on, 
sad and bitter must have been his thoughts. 
He had time to think of his sins. He did 
think of them, and repented, and found 
pardon from a gracious prayer-hearing God. 

This is clear from the fact that afterward 
a great change is found in his character 



74 BIBLE HISTORY. 

and conduct. It is also proved by the 
fact that God then revealed himself to Ja- 
cob in a wonderful manner. 

When the sun was set, and the shades of 
night drew on, at the close of his second 
day's journey, he lay down to rest in the 
open air, with a stone under his head for a 
pillow. 

During his sleep the Lord showed him a 
wonderful vision. He saw a ladder set 
upon the earth, the top of which reached to 
heaven. On this ladder he saw an-els 
coming down and going up. White he 
was gazing on this sight, the Lord appear- 
ed to him above the ladder and spake 
these words to Jacob : I am the Lord God 
of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac. 
In thee, and in thy seed, shall all the families 
of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with 
thee, and will keep thee in all places. 

When Jacob awoke out of his sleep he 
was, of course, astonished and lost in 
wonder at the goodness of God. Then 
and there he made a vow to serve the 
Lord. The Lord, said he, shall be my God, 
a resolution which we should all make' 
and which cannot be made too early in life. ' 
Two things were intended by that 



OLD TESTAMENT. 75 

vision of the angels upon the ladder as 
6een by Jacob. The first was to teach him 
and to teach us the connection that there 
is between earth and heaven. The Apos- 
tle Paul asks the question, Are not all the 
angel's ministering spirits sent forth to 
minister unto them who shall be heirs of 
salvation? And Jacob's vision answers 
that question and confirms the saying of the 
Psalmist: The angel of the Lord encamp- 
eth round about them that fear him. 

But secondly, Jesus Christ alluded to 
these angels when he said, Hereafter ye 
shall see heaven open, and the angels of 
God ascending and descending upon the 
Son of Man. 

By Jesus Christ, while on the one hand, 
God has come down to man, on the other, 
man may ascend to God. 

Hymn. 

What doth the ladder mean 
Sent down from the Most High ? 

Fastened to earth its foot is seen, 
Its summit in the sky. 

Lo ! up and down the scale 

The angels swiftly move ; 
And God the great invisible 

Himself appears above I 



76 BIBLE HISTORT. 

Jesus that ladder is, 

Incarnate Deity, 
Partaker of celestial bliss 

And human misery. 

Sent from his high abode, 
To sleeping mortals given, 

He stands, and man unites to God, 
And earth connects with heaven. 



Questions on Lesson XVI. 

1. What is said of the event which is the subject of 

this lesson? 

2. How does Jacob leave his home ? 

3. At whose direction does he leave his home ? 

4. What had he with him on this journey ? 

5. How loug was the journey? 

6. What was the name of the place his uncle lived in ? 

7. What was the state of the road? 

8. What is supposed to have been the character of 

his thoughts? 

9. Of what had he time to think ? 

10. What was the result of his repentance? 

11. What fact is first stated as evidence of his having 

found mercy? 

12. By what other fact is this confirmed ? 

13. Where did he he lie down to rest? 

14. On what day of his journey was this? 

15. What had he under his head for a pillow? 

16. What did the Lord show him while he was asleep? 

17. What did Jacob see in this wonderful vision? 

18. What happened while he was gazing at the angels? 



OLD TESTAMENT. 77 

,19. What did the Lord say to Jacob? 

20. How did Jacob feel when he awoke from sleep? 

21. "What did he do then and there? 

22. Who else should make the same resolution ? 

23. When should it be made? 

24. What was the first thing intended by that vision 

of angels ? 

25. What question does St. Paul ask? 

26. What saying of the Psalmist is also confirmed? 

27. Who else alludes to these ascending and descend- 

ing angels ? 

28. Can you repeat what Jesus said on the subject? 

29. Do you know to whom Jesus said this ? 

30. What are the two things here said of Christ? 



-<-♦♦- 



LESSON SEVENTEENTH. 

ISEAEL THE CONQUEROR. 

Jacob reached the end of his long and 
lonely journey in safety, and was received 
with great kindness by his uncle Laban. 
This kindness, however, was all a pretense. 
Laban was a selfish miser. He deceived 
his nephew and imposed upon him; but 
God's blessing was with Jacob, and he pros- 
pered in all that he did, and in course of 
time grew to be rich in flocks and herds. 

He had been a servant to his uncle four- 
teen years, and as he had now a large 



78 BIBLE HISTOEY. 

family of his own, he thought it best to 
leave Laban, and return to his own country 
with all that he had. 

In the course of their journey word was 
one day brought to Jacob that his brother 
Esau, with four hundred men, was coming 
to meet him. You remember that Esau 
had threatened to kill his brother, and 
though so many years had passed, Jacob 
was afraid. He knew that he was too weak 
to engage in a fight against Esau and four 
hundred men. He feared not only for his 
own life but for the lives of his family. 

In this hour of trouble he calls upon his 
God in prayer. He pleads the promises 
made to his fathers and to himself. This is 
a part of his prayer : " Thou hast said, O God 
of my father Abraham, and God of my father 
Isaac, thou hast said, I will deal well with 
thee ;" and now, pleading that promise, he 
says : " Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand 
of my brother ; for I fear him, lest he come and 
smite me, and the mother with the children." 

And Jacob continued in prayer all that 
night. He wrestled in prayer, in the lan- 
guage of the sacred writer, until the break- 
ing of the day. The whole account is one 
of the most wonderful and most instructive in 



OLD TESTAMENT. 79 

the Bible. Jacob continued to pray until he 
received the blessing. u I will not let thee go," 
said he ; " unless thou bless me ;" and that was 
the moment of his victory. Then the bless- 
ing came. The Being with whom Jacob 
wrestled in prayer said to him : u Thy name 
shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel ; for 
as a prince hast thou power with God and w T ith 
men, and hast prevailed." With the daw T n of 
a new day a flood of light, and peace, and 
joy broke in upon his soul, and thenceforth he 
is called no longer Jacob, which means a 
supplanter, but Israel, a victorious prince. 

From him, afterward, the people of God 
took the name of Israelites, for as Jacob be- 
came Israel only as the result of fervent prayer, 
so do the children of men become Israelites 
and heirs of the promises. Hence it is that 
Jesus Christ tells us to strive to enter in at 
the strait gate ; and in allusion to the wrest- 
ling of fervent prayer, he says, "The kingdom 
of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent 
take it by force." 

Hymn. 

Feeble, helpless, how shall I 
Learn to live and learn to die ? 
Who, God my guide shall be ? 
Who shall lead thy child to thee ? 



80 BIBLE HISTOBT. 

Blessed Father, gracious one, 
Thou hast sent thy holy Son ; 
He will give the light I need, 
He my trembling steps will lead, 

Through tins world, uncertain, dim, 
Let me ever lean on him ; 
From his precepts wisdom draw, 
Make his life my solemn law, 

Thus in deed, and thought, and word, 
Led by Jesus Christ, the Lord, 
In my weakness thus shall I 
Learn to live and learn to die. 



Questions on Lesson XVII. 

1. How did Jacob reach the end of his journey ? 

2. How was he received by his uncle Laban? 

3. What is said of Laban's apparent kindness ? 

4. What was the character of Laban ? 

5. How did he show his evil disposition ? 

6. What caused Jacob to prosper? 

7. In what did he become rich ? 

8. How long was he Laban's servant ? 

9. What did he think it best to do? 

10. As the} r journeyed what message was brought to 

Jacob ? 

11. What had Esau threatened to do? 

12. How long before this was that threat made? 

13. How did Jacob feel when he heard of Esau's 

approach ? 



OLD TESTAMENT. 81 

14. What did Jacob do in this hour of trouble ? 

15. Can you repeat any part of Jacob's prayer? 

16. How long did he continue in prayer ? 

17. What is the language of the sacred writer? 

18. What is said of this whole account ? 

19. What is the language used by Jacob ? 

20. What happened when he said that? 

21. What did He with whom Jacob wrestled say to 

him? 

22. At the dawn of the new day what occurred ? 

23. What does the name of Jacob mean ? 

24. Wherein did Jacob deserve that name ? 

25. What is the meaning of the name Israel? 

26. By what name are the people of God sometimes 

called ? 

27. Why are they so called? 

28. What does Jesus Christ say about the strait 

gate? 

29. What does he say in allusion to the wrestling of 

fervent prayer ? 



-♦♦♦- 



LESSON EIGHTEENTH. 

JOSEPH AND HIS BROTHERS. 

The meeting of Esau and his brother 
Jacob, now called Israel, was kind and 
friendly. Esau, it seems, had forgotten the 
cause of his anger, and brotherly love pre- 
vailed between them. 

6 



82 BIBLE HISTORY. 

Esau founded the kingdom of Edom, 
while from his brother descended the peo- 
ple called Israelites. They were divided 
into twelve tribes, each named after one of 
his sons. These were their names : Reuben, 
Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulon, Dan, 
Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Joseph, Benjamin. 

Of all these children Joseph was the favor- 
ite of his father. The rest, except Benjamin, 
who was the youngest, became jealous of Jo- 
seph because his father loved him so much. 
And they hated him more and more, until at 
last they could not speak peaceably to him. 

One day, when they were in the field, at 
some distance from home, they said one to 
another, Let us kill Joseph, and we can tell his 
father that he has been slain by a wild beast. 

The eldest brother, Reuben, said, No, let 
us not kill him, but let us cast him into a 
pit. This they did in spite of the poor boy's 
cries and tears. They meant to let him 
starve to death there in the pit. 

But by chance some men came by who 
were going to Egypt. To these men they 
sold their brother as a slave for twenty 
pieces of silver, a sum equal to about ten or 
twelve dollars of our money. This was 
most wicked and cruel. It is the first time 



OLD TESTAMENT. 83 

we read of such a thing as a slave bought 
and sold for money. But only to think of 
men selling their own brother ! a boy, at 
that time about seventeen years of age, and 
a brother so good and gentle, with whom 
they could find no fault but that his father 
loved him. But there was no help for 
Joseph. The men who bought him took 
him away with them, in spite of his cries 
and prayers. Hard, indeed, must have 
been the hearts of his cruel brothers ; but 
they gave no heed to his tears, and they 
saw the men who had bought their brother 
as a slave drag him away with them. 

But they did what some might think 
quite as bad as selling Joseph. Before they 
parted with him they took off a coat of 
many colors which the lad's father had 
made for him. This they dipped in the 
blood of a goat which they had killed, and 
then brought it to their father. They told 
him they found it in the field. See, said 
they, if it be thy son's coat or not. Their 
father knew the coat as soon as he saw it, 
and as it was bloody, he thought some beast 
had killed his boy. The poor old man wept, 
and would not be comforted. He said, I will 
go down to my grave mourning for my son. 



84 BIBLE HISTORY. 



Hymn. 

When musing sorrow weeps the past, 
And mourns the present pain, 

'Tis sweet to think of peace at last, 
And feel that death is gain. 

let me wing my hallowed flight 
From earth-born woe and care, 

And soar above these clouds of night 
My Saviour's bliss to share. 



Questions on Lesson XVIIL 

1. What is said of the meeting between Esau and 

Jacob ? 

2. What had Esau forgotten ? 

3. What prevailed between them ? 

4. What was the name of the kingdom founded by 

Esau? 

5. From whom did the Israelites descend ? 

6. Into how many tribes were they divided ? 

7. From whom did these tribes derive their names ? 

8. Can you give the names of the sons of Israel ? 

9. Which of these sons was the favorite of his father ? 

10. Which was the youngest son? 

11. Do you know which was the oldest? 

12. What is further said of their hatred of Joseph? 

13. What did they propose to do one day when they 

were in the field ? 

14. Who objected to killing Joseph ? 







JOSEPH i N BONO k. 






OLD TESTAMENT. 87 

15. What did Reuben propose to do ? 

16. Did they throw him into the pit? 

17. What was their intention in doing this? 

18. Whither were the men going who then came by? 

19. What did they do with Joseph? 

20. For how much did they sell him ? 

21. How many dollars are twenty pieces of silver? 

22. How do you regard this conduct? 

23. Is this the first instance we have of a slave sold 

for money ? 

24. How old was Joseph at this time ? 

25. What did those do who bought Joseph ? 

26. What would some think of their next action? 

27. Who made for Joseph a coat of many colors? 

28. What did his brothers do with that coat? 

29. What falsehood did they tell him? 

30. What question did they ask him? 

31. What did their father think when he saw the coat ? 

32. What did he say? 



•+++■ 



LESSON NINETEENTH. 

JOSEPH THE GOVERNOR. 

When the merchants who bought Jo- 
seph reached Egypt they sold him to a man 
named Potiphar, who was an officer in the 
household of the king. By this new master 
Joseph was at first treated kindly; but 



88 BIBLE HISTORY. 

owing to a false charge brought against 
him by Potiphar's wife, he was cast into 
prison. 

While in this dungeon, Pharaoh, the king 
of Egypt, had a dream w T hich none of his 
wise men could interpret. The king was 
told that Joseph could perhaps do it, as he 
had explained the meaning of two dreams of 
the servants of Pharaoh. Then the king 
sent for him, and he was brought out of 
prison. 

With great modesty Joseph listened to 
Pharaoh as he told his dream. Only by 
the help of the Lord could he hope to tell 
what the dream meant. The Lord did help 
him. The dream, Joseph said, foretold seven 
years of great plenty in the land of Egypt, 
and then seven years of famine. He advised 
the king to lay up grain in the years of 
plenty, that they might have food to eat in 
the years of famine. 

The king agreed to do so, and made Jo- 
seph his first officer to attend to this busi- 
ness. He put a gold chain about Joseph'? 
neck, and took off his own ring and put it 
on Joseph's finger, and made him ruler 
over all the land* 

Then, even as he had said, there came seven 



OLD TESTAMENT. 89 

years in which the crops of all kinds of grain 
were very large. By order of Joseph food 
was gathered and laid up in storehouses in 
great abundance, even so much, during the 
seven years, that the corn was said to be 
like the sands on the sea-shore, past reckon- 
ing up. 

Then the seven years of famine came. 
The dearth was in all lands, and people 
from every quarter came to Egypt to buy 
food. 

At length the brothers of Joseph, who had 
sold him as a slave, were obliged to make a 
journey to Egypt to buy food for themselves 
and their families. When they saw the 
ruler of Egypt they did not know that he 
was their brother, but he knew them, and at 
first treated them harshly. Then their con- 
sciences troubled them, and they began to 
think of their cruel and wicked conduct. 

But Joseph still loved them, and after 
a while made himself known. 

Then he sent for his father ; and when 
Israel was told that Joseph was yet alive 
and governor of Egypt, his heart fainted, 
for he believed them not. But when they 
showed him what his son Joseph ha*l sent, 
the corn, and the wagons which were to 



90 BIBLE HISTORY. 

carry them and all he had to Egypt, Israel 
said, It is enough ; Joseph my son is yet 
alive, I will go down and see him before I 
die. 

Thus the whole family came into Egypt 
and, by direction of Joseph, made their 
home in the land of Goshen. Seventeen 
years after their arrival in Egypt the good 
old patriarch died, and his son Joseph took 
his body to Hebron, and laid it in the same 
tomb where had been placed the bodies of 
Abraham and Isaac. 

Fifty-four years afterward Joseph also 
died, at the age of one hundred and ten, 
having been a ruler in Egypt eighty years. 

Hymn. 

Great God, with wonder and with praise 

On all thy works I look ; 
But still thy wisdom, power, and grace 

Shine brightest in thy book. 

Here may I learn how Christ has died 

To save my soul from hell; 
Not all the books on earth beside 

Such heavenly wonders tell. 

Then let me love my Bible more, 

And take a fresh delight 
By day to read these wonders o'er 

And meditate by night. 



OLD TESTAMENT. 91 



Questions on Lesson XIX. 

1 What did the men who bought Joseph do with 
him? 

2. What was Potiphar ? 

3. How did he treat Joseph ? 

4. Who brought a false charge against him ? 

5. What was the result of that false accusation ? 

6. What happened while Joseph was in this dungeon ? 

7. What were Pharaoh's wise men unable to do ? 

8. What was the king told? 

9. Why was it thought that Joseph could interpret 

the dream? 

10. What did the king then do ? 

11. How did Joseph listen to the king's dream? 

12. By whose help could Joseph interpret the dream ? 

13. Did the Lord help him? 

14. How many years of plenty did the dream foretell ? 

15. What was to follow the years of plenty? 

16. What did Joseph advise the king to do ? 

17. Did the king follow that advice? 

18. Whom did the king make his officer to attend to 

this? 

19. What other honor did he confer on Joseph? 

20. What was the state of the crops during the next 

seven years? 

21. What was then done by Joseph's order? 

22. What was the amount of corn said to be like? 

23. What followed the seven years of plenty? 

24. To what extent did the famine prevail ? 

25. Who came to Egypt to buy food ? 

26. What is said of the brothers of Joseph? 



92 BIBLE HISTORY. 

27. How did Joseph treat them ? 

28. How did they feel ? 

29. What did Joseph do when he made himself 

known? 

30. What is said of Israel when he first heard the 

story ? 

31. What did he say when he saw the wagons Joseph 

had sent? 

32. In what part of Egypt did Joseph place the family? 

33. How many years after this did Israel live ? 

34. Where was he buried ? 

35. How old was Joseph when he died? 

36. How long had he been a ruler in Egypt ? 



-4^>- 



LESSON TWENTIETH. 

THE CRUEL DECREE. 

During the life of Joseph, and for some 
time after his death, the Hebrews, or chil- 
dren of Israel, as the sons of Jacob and 
their descendants were called, were kindly 
treated by the Egyptians. They increased 
rapidly in number and in wealth. 

At length, however, a new race of kings 
ruled over Egypt; kings who knew not 
Joseph, and who had no regard for his 
memory. 

The Hebrews still dwelt in the land of 



OLD TESTAMENT. 93 

Goshen, and in about one hundred years 
after Joseph's death the Egyptians began 
to be afraid that they would become more 
numerous and powerful than themselves. 
So they began to treat the Israelites with 
harshness and cruelty. They reduced them, 
in fact, to a state of bondage, and made slaves 
of them. 

The Egyptians appointed task-masters 
over them, who afflicted them with hard 
tasks, and treated them with severity. 
They were compelled to do all kinds of 
work in the field, to make bricks, and to 
build cities. 

It is said, but of this we have no positive 
evidence, that those wonders of the world, 
the Pyramids, were built by the Israelites, 
under the direction of the Egyptians. 

Those immense buildings are still stand- 
ing. It is supposed by learned men that 
the Pyramids were designed for the tombs 
of the kings of Egypt, and that their dead 
bodies were placed within them. 

The condition of the Israelites grew 
worse and worse. The cruelty of the Egyp- 
tians increased ; but the more they afflicted 
those whom they now treated as slaves, the 
more they grew in numbers, for God con- 



94 BIBLE HISTORY. 

tinued to bless them, and remembered the 
promises which he had made to their ances- 
tors, Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. 

At length a decree was made by the king 
of Egypt which it was thought would put 
a stop to the wonderful increase of this peo- 
ple. The name of this king was Pharaoh, 
the same as he was called to whom Joseph, 
more than a hundred years before, had in- 
terpreted the dream which foretold the 
years of plenty and of famine. But it 
seems that in those days each king, when 
he came to the throne, took the name of 
Pharaoh; and hence, those who do not 
know that fact are apt to confound one 
with another, and thus fall into error. The 
decree of this king was that all the male 
children of the Hebrews should be thrown 
into the river and drowned. Any parents 
who did not obey this cruel command, and 
throw their little boys into the river, might 
expect to be put to death themselves. 

We do not know how many little chil- 
dren were thus destroyed ; but, as we shall 
see, even this decree was overruled by the 
Almighty for the promotion of his de- 
signs, and resulted in raising up a leader 
for the children of Israel, by whom they 



OLD TESTAMENT. 95 

were at last rescued from their Egyptian 
bondage. 

Hymn. 

Lord, all who put their trust in thee 

Thy mercy shall proclaim, 
And sing with cheerful melody 

Their great Redeemer's name. 

Protected by thy guardian grace, 

They shall extol thy power ; 
Rejoice, give thanks, and sing thy praise, 

And triumph evermore. 

m 

They never shall to evil yield, 

Defended from above ; 
And kept and covered with the shield 

Of thine Almighty love. 



Questions on Lesson XX. 

1. During the life of Joseph how did the Egyptians 

treat the Israelites ? 

2. "Who are meant by the Hebrews ? 

3. By what other name are they also called ? 

4. In what did they increase rapidly ? 

5. What is said of a new race of kings ? 

6. For what had they no regard ? 

7. Where did the Hebrews dwell at this time ? 

8. Of what did the Egyptians begin to be afraid ? 

9. How long was this after the death of Joseph ? 

10. How then did the Egyptians begin to treat the 
Israelites ? 



96 BIBLE HISTORY. 

11. To what state were the Israelites reduced? 

12. What did the Egyptians appoint? 

13. How did those task-masters treat the Israelites? 

14. What were they made to do? 

15. What wonders of the world are next spoken of? 

16. By whom is it thought the P} r ramids were built? 

17. Are the Pyramids still standing? 

18. For what object were they erected? 

19. What is next said of the condition of the Israel- 

ites ? 

20. What is said of the cruelty of the Egyptians? 

21. What effect had this increasing cruelty on the 

Israelites ? % 

22. To what was the increase of the Israelites owing? 

23. To whom had God made special promises? 

24. What was the name of the king of Egypt? 

25. Was this the king whose dream Joseph inter- 

preted ? 
26 What did he hope to effect by the decree which he 
made ? 

27. What is said with reference to the name of the 

kings of Egypt ? 

28. What was the decree of this king ? 

29. What might those expect who disobeyed the king's 

command ? 

30. What do we not know ? 

31. By whom was this decree overruled? 

32. In what did it result? 



OLD TESTAMENT. 97 

LESSON TWENTY-FIRST. 
THE BIRTH OF MOSES. 

While this cruel decree was in force, a 
little boy was born whose mother determ- 
ined to try to save from death. She had 
two other children, a boy named Aaron, 
and a girl who was called Miriam. 

Her new-born babe was a beautiful child, 
and she kept him hid for three months from 
the sight of those who would have made 
her throw him in the river. 

At last, when she could keep him hid no 
longer, she made a little boat, or ark, as it 
was called, in which she put the child, and 
placed it carefully among the reeds which 
grew by the brink of the river. This, we 
may be sure, she did with many tears and 
kisses, and in the hope that by some means 
the boy's life would be saved. 

Miriam, the sister of the little fellow, was 
left to watch for a while, and to see what 
would be the result. 

It came to pass, in a little while, that one 
of the daughters of the Egyptian king, with 
several of the maids who waited upon her, 

n 



98 BIBLE HISTORY. 

took a walk on the bank of the m er. By 
chance, as some would say, but, more prop- 
erly, directed by Providence, they came to 
that part of the stream where the young 
babe was lying in the little boat made for 
him by his mother. 

When the princess, as a king's daughter 
is called, saw the boat, she told one of her 
maids to go and fetch it, which she did. 
Having opened it, she saw the child, who 
began to cry. When the princess saw his 
tears she had pity on him. She said, It is a 
child of one of the Hebrews, and she re- 
solved to save his life. 

But what shall be done for a nurse to 
take care of the little babe? Just then 
Miriam presented herself, and, without mak- 
ing known the fact that the child was her 
own brother, she asked if she should go and 
find a nurse among the Hebrew women. 
The king's daughter told her to do so. 
Right glad you may be sure Miriam was 
when she went and told her mother to come 
and be the nurse of her own babe. 

Take this child, said Pharaoh's daughter, 
and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy 
wages. This, of course, was gladly done, 
and his own mother continued to nurse tbt 



OLD TESTAMENT. 99 

babe until he was weaned. Then he was 
taken to the palace of the king, and was 
known as the son of the king's daughter, 
who gave unto him the name Moses. 

Very different was his lot now from that 
of his brother and sister, and the other 
children of the afflicted and persecuted He- 
brews. His life was one of ease and lux- 
ury. He was educated in all the learning 
of the Egyptians, at that time the most 
learned people in the world, and there was 
a prospect that he might one day become 
the king of Egypt. 

Hymn. 

Whom have we, Lord, in heaven but thee, 

And whom on earth beside ? 
Where else for succor can we flee, 

Or in whose strength confide ? 

When heart and flesh, Lord, shall fail, 

Thou wilt our spirit cheer; 
Support us through life's thorny vale, 

And calm each anxious fear. 

Yes, thou shalt be our guide through life, 

And help and strength supply ; 
Sustain us in death's fearful strife, 

And welcome us on high. 



100 BIBLE HISTORY. 



Questions on Lesson XXI. 

1. What was the cruel decree which is her© spoken 

of? 

2. What happened at this time ? 

3. What did this boy's mother determine to do ? 

4. How many other children had she ? 

5. What were their names ? 

6. What is said of this new-born babe ? 

7. How long did his mother keep him hidden? 

8. What did she do when she could keep him hid no 

longer ? 

9. How did she do this ? 

10. What did she hope when she placed the boy in the 

boat? 

11. Who was left to watch the result? 

12. What then came to pass? 

13. How were they led to that part of the stream where 

the child was ? 

14. What is a king's daughter called? 

15. What did the princess do when she saw the boat? 

16. When the ark was uncovered, what did the child 

do? 

17. What effect had his tears on the king's daughter? 

18. What did she say he was? 

19. What did she resolve to do? 

20. What question then arose ? 

21. Who then presented herself before the princess? 

22. What did Miriam ask the privilege of doing? 

23. What did the king's daughter tell her to do? 

24. To whom did Miriam go ? 

25. What said Pharaoh's daughter to the child's mother? 



OLD TESTAMENT. 101 

26. How long did she continue to nurse the child? 

27. "Where was he then taken? 

28. As whose son did he then become known? 

29. What name did the daughter of Pharaoh give him? 

30. What kind of life did he then lead? 

31. How was he educated? 

32. What was the apparent prospect before him? 



LESSON TWENTY-SECOND. 
THE BURNESTG BUSH. 

Moses continued to live in the palace of 
the king of Egypt, and to be regarded as 
the son of the king's daughter until he was 
forty years of age. During all that time 
the Israelites were treated with harshness 
and cruelty by their oppressors. 

Moses had been told of his birth, and 
knew the sorrows and sufferings of his peo- 
ple. At length, when he saw no prospect of 
their afflictions coming to an end, he determ- 
ined to share those afflictions with them. 
He refused to be considered or treated any 
longer as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. 
He renounced the wealth and luxury of the 
king's palace, and took his place among the 
despised and down-trodden Israelites. He 



102 BIBLE HISTORY. 

chose rather, says the apostle, to suffer 
affliction with the people of God than to 
enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. 

One day, after he had come to this de- 
termination, Moses saw an Egyptian smite 
an Israelite ; at the sight of which his 
anger became so great that he killed the 
Egyptian and hid his body in the sand. 

When this became known he was obliged 
to fly for his life. The king of Egypt 
sought to put him to death ; but he escaped, 
and went and dwelt in the land of Midian, a 
country supposed to have been on the east- 
ern coast of the Red Sea, in Stony Arabia. 
In that country he became a shepherd, and 
married, and had two sons whom he called 
Ger shorn and Eliezer. 

And now another king arose in Egypt 
who treated the unhappy Hebrews with 
still greater cruelty. They sighed, it in 
said, by reason of their bondage, and their 
cry went up to heaven for deliverance. 
And God heard their cry and made known 
to Moses his determination to set them free 
from their slavery in Egypt. 

The way in which God revealed his pur- 
pose is one of the most wonderful events to 
be found in the Biblo. Moses was with his 



OLD TESTAMENT. 103 

flock near Mount Horeb, afterward called 
the Mountain of God. On a sudden he was 
startled by beholding a flame of fire burst- 
ing from the midst of a bush. The fire con- 
tinued to burn, but the bush was not 
consumed. 

While Moses was gazing at this strange 
sight, God called to him out of the midst of 
the bush and said, I am the God of thy 
father, the God of Abraham, the God 
of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. At 
hearing this Moses was terrified and hid 
his face. 

Then the Almighty told Moses of his 
determination to set his people free, and 
to bring them out of the land of Egypt, 
and to give them a land flowing with 
milk and honey. He also made known 
his will that Moses should be the leader 
of the people, and gaye him power to work 
miracles, that thus he might convince the 
people that God had really sent him to be 
their deliverer. 

At the same time the elder brother of 
Moses, whose name, you remember, was 
Aaron, was appointed to be his companion. 
He was yet dwelling in Goshen with the 
oppressed Israelites, but was directed by 



104 BIBLE HISTORY. 

the Lord to go and meet his brother on 
Mount Sinai. 

Hymn. 

What sinners value I resign ; 
Lord, 'tis enough if thou art mine ; 
I shall behold thy blissful face, 
And stand complete in righteousness, 

This world's a dream, an empty show: 
But the bright world to which I go 
Hath joys substantial and sincere ; 
When shall I wake and find me there ? 

glorious hour ! blest abode ! 

1 shall be near and like my God; 
And flesh and sin no more control 
The sacred pleasures of the soul. 



Questions on Lesson XXII. 

1. How long did Moses continue in the king's palace ? 

2. How were the Israelites treated during that time ? 

3. Did Moses suppose himself to be an Egyptian ? 

4. With what had he been made acquainted ? 

5. To what determination did Moses come ? 

6. When did he thus determine ? 

7. What did he refuse to be any longer considered ? 

8. What did he renounce ? 

9. Where did he take his place ? 

10. Can you repeat what the apostle says about him? 

11. What - excited the answer of Mopes? 



OLD TESTAMENT. 105 

12. What did he then do to the Egyptian ? 

13. When this became known what was he obliged 

to do? 

14. Who sought to put him to death ? 

15. When he escaped where did he go to dwell? 

1 6. Where was the land of Midian ? 

17. What did he do for a living in that country? 

18. What were the names of his sons who were born 

there ? 

19. How did the next king of Egypt treat the Israel- 

ites ? 

20. What is said of them in this affliction ? 

21. What did God make known to Moses ? 

22. What was the name of the mountain near which 

God made known his will? 

23. What was this mountain afterward called ? 

24. What strange sight startled Moses ? 

25. What happened while Moses was gazing at the 

burning bush ? 

26. What did God say? 

27. How did this affect Moses ? 

28. Of what did the Almighty then tell Moses ? 

29. Whom did the Lord appoint to be leader of the 

people ? 

30. What power did God give to Moses? 

31. Who was appointed to be the companion of Moses? 

32. Where was Aaron now living? 

33. Who directed him to go and meet Moses ? 



106 BIBLE HISTORY. 

LESSON TWENTY-THIRD. 

PHARAOH'S REFUSAL. 

As the Lord had directed them, Moses 
and Aaron met each other at the place ap- 
pointed. They had not seen each other for 
the long space of forty years, and their 
meeting was one of great joy. to them both. 
They told each other of what had happened 
while they had been separated, and Moses 
related to his brother all the words that the 
Lord had spoken, aud told him of the signs 
and wonders which God would enable them 
to perform. 

Then they called a meeting of the chief 
men among the Israelites, to whom they 
made known what God was about to do. In 
proof of the truth of what they said they 
performed several miracles. 

First, they turned a rod into a living ser- 
pent and with a word converted it into a 
rod again. 

Then Aaron put his hand into his bosom, 
and when he took it out behold it was as 
white as snow, all covered with leprosy. 
While the elders of the people were yet 



OLD TESTAMENT. 107 

looking at this disgusting sight, he put his 
hand again into his bosom, and in a moment 
it was restored to perfect soundness. 

And yet one more miracle. Aaron calls 
for some of the water of the Nile, that river 
once so full of horror to every Hebrew 
mother. The water is brought, it is poured 
forth upon the dry ground, and just as God 
had said, the water is turned into blood. 

When they saw these things the people 
were satisfied that these men, Moses and 
Aaron, were sent by the God of their fathers 
to free them from the yoke of bondage, and 
they bowed their heads and worshiped. 

Then, with great boldness, these two broth- 
ers go to the king of Egypt and tell him 
what the Lord had said. This was their 
language to the tyrant : " Thus said the Lord 
God of Israel, Let my people go that they 
may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness." 

And the king, whose name was Pharaoh, 
as we have seen was common to all who 
ruled over Egypt, was very angry at the 
bold demand of Moses and Aaron. And he 
said, " Who is the Lord that I should obey 
his voice ? I know not the Lord, and I will 
not let Israel go V ■ 

But not only did Pharaoh refuse to set the 



108 BIBLE HISTORY. 

people free, but being very angry that such 
a demand had been made, he increased 
greatly the severity with which the unhappy 
Israelites were treated. Their lot was al- 
most unbearable before, but now it became 
far more grievous. 

The poor, afflicted people now began to 
find fault with Moses and Aaron. "The 
Lord," said they, " look upon you two men 
and judge." As if they had said, Our lives 
were bitter before ; and now, since ye per- 
suaded us that God was about to set us 
free, and went unto the king with your 
message, we have been treated far worse 
than before. 

Then, too, the faith of Moses began to 
fail. He could not help being sad that the 
afflictions of his people had been increased, 
and he even ventured to ask the Lord, 
" Why is it that thou hast sent me ?" In his 
haste he seems to accuse God of forgetting 
his word and of violating his promise. 

Hymn. 

Some put their trust in chariots, 
And horses some rely on ; 

But God alone 

Our help we own : 
He is the strength of Zion. 



OLD TESTAMENT. 109 

His name we will remember 
In every sore temptation, 

And feel its powers, 

For Christ is ours, 
With all his great salvation. 

He out of all our troubles 
Shall mightily deliver, 
And then receive 
Us up to live 
And reign with him forever. 



Questions on Lesson XXIII. 

1. By whose direction did Moses and Aaron meet ? 

2. Where was this meeting of the two brothers t 

3. How long since they had seen each other before 

this? 

4. What is said of the character of this meeting? 
&. On what subject did they converse ? 

6. What did the two brothers then do ? 

7. How did they proceed to prove the truth of what 

they said? 

8. What was the first miracle performed? 

9. What was the second ? 

10. What did Aaron call for in order to show the 

third sign ? 

11. Into what was the water converted? 

12. What effect did these miracles produce? 

] 3. What did those who were present then do ? 
14. What was the next step taken by Moses and 
Aaron ? 



110 BIBLE HISTORY. 

15 What was their language to King Pharaoh? 

16. By whose command did they profess to come? 

17. What was the common name of the kings of 

Egypt? 

18. How did Pharaoh receive the message of Moses 

and Aaron ? 

19. What question did he ask? 

20. Whom did he say he did not know? 

21. What did he say of the Israelites? 

22. Why was the king very angry ? 

23. How did he then treat the Israelites ? 

24. What is said of their present as contrasted with 

their former condition? 

25. With whom did they now begin to find fault ? 

26. Had they any just reason to complain of Moses 

and Aaron ? 

27. What language did they use ? 

28. What is then said of the faith of Moses? 

29. What made him sad and discouraged him? 

30. What did Moses venture to do? 

31. Of what in his haste does he seem to accuse God? 



-4-*^ 



LESSON TWENTY-FOURTH. 

THE PLAGUES OF EGYPT. 

God listened to the cry of Moses, and 
pardoned him for his want of faith He 
renews his promises, and directs the two 
brothers to go again to Pharaoh, with 




THE ROD OF MOSES. 



OLD TESTAMENT. 113 

power to bring upon him and upon all 
Egypt the most dreadful plagues. 

Thus encouraged and directed, Moses and 
Aaron again demand the liberation of the 
people. But, as before, the king refuses. 
So he continues to refuse, although ' each 
refusal is followed by a dreadful plague. 

The first was the turning the waters of 
the Nile into blood. This caused the death 
of all the fish, and the river stank and be- 
came intolerably offensive. This state of 
things continued for a whole week, but was 
not sufiicient to soften the hard heart of 
the Egyptian king. 

Then, for the second plague, Aaron 
stretched out his rod, and an immense 
army of frogs came forth and filled the 
whole land of Egypt. 

The third plague speedily followed. 
Aaron stretched out his rod again and 
smote the dust of the earth, and it became 
lice on man and beast. The dust of the 
land, it is said, became lice throughout all 
the land of Egypt. But though the king's 
wise men admitted that this miracle could 
only be traced to the finger of God, he still 
refused to de what God commanded and 
let the people go. 

8 



Hi BIBLE HISTORY. 

Then followed a grievous swarm of flies, 
so numerous that the whole land was cor- 
rupted by them, and Pharaoh called for 
Moses and Aaron, promising to set the peo- 
ple free if they would put a stop to this 
plague. But he broke his promise as soon 
as the flies disappeared. 

Then came the fifth plague, which is 
called a grevious murrain, that is, a contagi- 
ous disease, which fell upon all the cattle of 
the Egyptians. Their horses, and oxen, 
and camels, and sheep all died; but what 
was remarkable, and showed plainly the 
hand of God, none of the cattle of the Israel- 
ites were affected by it. 

The sixth plague was brought about by 
ashes taken from the furnace, which Moses 
sprinkled in the air, and which caused 
boils to break out upon the Egyptians, a 
loathsome and painful disease. 

A still more terrible exhibition of God's 
power followed. The Lord sent thunder 
and hail, and fire mingled with hail, such as 
had never been seen before. And it smote 
all that were in the land of Egypt, both man 
and beast ; but in the land of Goshen, where 
the children of Israel were, there was no hail. 

Then, for a while, Pharaoh relented, and 



OLD TESTAMENT. 115 

made fair promises ; but as soon as the 
storm passed away he hardened his heart 
again, and bade defiance to Moses and to the 
God who sent him. 

The eighth plague was an immense swarm 
of locusts, which destroyed every green 
thing and all the fruit of the trees which the 
hail had left. Then Pharaoh's servants and 
officers besought him to send away the 
Israelites ; but he still refused, and the ninth 
plague followed. This was a thick darkness 
in all the land of Egypt, which continued 
for three days. For that length of time 
they could not see one another, but the 
children of Israel had light in their dwellings. 

Hymk. 

He reigns ; the Lord, the Saviour reigns ! 
Praise him in evangelic strains ; 
Let all on earth in songs rejoice, 
And praise him with united voice. 

Deep are his counsels and unknown; 
But grace and truth support his throne ; 
Though gloomy clouds his way surround, 
Justice is their eternal ground. 

His enemies, with sore dismay, 
Ely from the sight and shun the day ; 
Then lift your heads, ye saints on high, 
And sing, for your redemption's nigh. 



116 BIBLE HISTORY. 



Questions on Lesson XXIV. 

1. What is here said of Moses and his want of faith? 

2. What does God direct the two brothers to do? 

3. With what power are Hoses and Aaron endued? 

4. What do they then do ? 

5. How does Pharaoh treat their request? 

6. By what is the refusal of the Egyptian king fol- 

lowed ? 

7. What was the first plague? 

8. What effects followed this plague? 

9. How long did the effects of this plague continue? 

10. How was the second plague produced, and what 

was it ? 

11. What speedily followed ? 

12. What was the third plague? 

13. What is said of the dust of the land? 

14. What did the Egyptian wise men acknowledge? 

15. What effect did this plague produce on Pharaoh? 

16. What was the fourth plague? 

IT. What did Pharaoh then promise? 

18. Did he keep his promise? 

19. What was the fifth plague? 

20. What were the effects of this murrain? 

21. How did the hand of God appear in this plague? 

22. What was the sixth plague, and how was it brought 

about ? 

23. What was the seventh plague? 

24. What difference was there between Goshen and 

other parts of Egypt ? 

25. What effect did this plague produce on Pharaoh? 

26. Did he keep his promise? 



OLD TESTAMENT. 11 

27. "What was the eighth plague? 

28. "What is said of Pharaoh's officers and servants? 

29. Did Pharaoh do as they requested? 

30. Describe the ninth plague and its effects? 



*♦♦*- 



LESSON TWENTY-FIFTH. 

THE PASSOVEK. 

And now the most terrible of all God's 
visitations was about to fall upon the Egyp- 
tians, and the day of Israel's deliverance was 
at hand. 

By the direction of the Almighty, each 
family of the Israelites has provided for 
itself a lamb, which is bled to death. 
With the blood of that lamb the door of 
every Israelite's house is sprinkled. Then 
they make preparations to eat their last 
meal in that land of bondage. 

Having roasted the lamb, with their loins 
girded, with shoes on their feet and staffs in 
their hands, they feast together, each family 
by itself. 

And it came to pass that at midnight the 
Lord smote all the first-born in the land of 
Egypt, and there was a great cry and uni- 
versal lamentation, for there was not a 



118 BIBLE HISTORY. 

house wherein there was not one dead. But 
the destroying angel passed over the houses 
sprinkled with the blood of the lamb. The 
inmates of all those dwellings were safe, and 
the gracious promise of their Gpd was about 
to be fulfilled. 

In the midst of this terrible scene, while 
cries and lamentations were heard in every 
Egyptian dwelling, the king sends hastily 
for Moses and Aaron. " Go," says he, " take 
your flocks and herds and be gone." Many 
of the Egyptians also urged them to depart 
speedily, " else," say they, " we be all dead 
men." 

Not, however, until the rising of the next 
day's sun did they depart. That sun looked 
down upon the gathering hosts, an army of 
freemen emancipated from a long and dreary 
bondage. There were the hoary-headed 
fathers, and the mothers bent by the infirm- 
ities of age ; the young men rejoicing in 
their strength, and the little children mute 
with wonder at this strange procession. 
God's promise was fulfilled. The banners 
of the several tribes waved in the breeze ; 
w r hile from rank to rank, and from heart to 
heart, pealed the shout of freemen in loud 
hosannas to the Lord of hosts. 



OLD TESTAMENT. 119 

The number of the Israelites who went 
forth that day triumphant from the house of 
bondage was not less, probably, than three 
millions. There were six hundred thousand 
effective men besides the Levites, the aged 
and infirm, and the women and children. 

The feast of which they partook on the 
night before leaving the land of Egypt was 
called the Passover. In memory of that 
great deliverance they were directed to keep 
this feast once a year. And so they did. 

The blood of that lamb with which their 
door-posts were sprinkled was an emblem of 
that blood without which there is no remis- 
sion of sin. So it continued to be for about 
fifteen hundred years. Then Jesus Christ, 
the Lamb of God, abolished the feast called 
the Passover, and instituted in its place 
what is known as the Lord's Supper. 

Hymn. 

I am weary of straying ! fain would I rest 
In that far-distant land of the pure and the blest ! 
"Where sin can no longer its blandishments spread, 
And tears and temptations forever have fled. 

I long for that land whose blest promise alone 
Is changeless and sure as eternity's throne ; 
I am weary of sighing o'er sorrows of earth, 
O'er joy's glowing visions that fade at their birth. 



120 BIBLE HISTORY, 

I am weary, my Saviour, of grieving thy love ; 

when shall I rest in thy preserve above ! 

1 am weary — but let me never repine, 

'While thy word, and thy love, and thy promise are 

mine. 



Questions ox Lesson XXV. 

1. What was now about to tali on the Egyptians? 
C. What is said of the day of Israel's deliverar. 

3. What did eaeh family in Israel provide? 

4. Bj whose direction was this done) 

5. What was done with this lamb? 

6. What was done with this 

7. What do they make preparations for doi 

8. In what way was the lamb cooked ? 
\\ How did the Israelites feast together? 

10. What happened at midnight? 

11. What is said of the extent of this oalam.. 
1% How was it with the houai - - aohtes? 
13. In the midst of the seene what does King Pharaoh 

do? 
li. What does the king say to them? 

N urged them to depart at once ? 
lb. In what way did fcl their depart. 

17. Did :". rt unmediafe '.;. ! 

IS. Upon what did the next day's sun look do* 
lf>. Erom what were thej emancipated? 
•JO. Do you remember how many tribes of Israelites 

there n i 

21. To whom did they attribute their deliverance I 

?•?. What is supposed to have been the number of this 



OLD TESTAMENT. 121 

23. How many effective men were there ? 
2-L What was the feast of which we have been speak- 
ing called ? 

25. How often were the Israelites directed to keep this 

feast ? 

26. For what object were they to keep this feast ? 

27. Did they thus continue to celebrate that feast? 
2S. Of what was the blood of the Passover lamb an 

emblem ? 

29. How long did it continue to be an emblem ? 

30. Who then abolished the Passover? 

31. What did he institute in place of it? 



-♦♦*► 



LESSON TWENTY- SIXTH. 

SECOND QUARTERLY REVISION. 

As we proceed with the Bible history it 
increases in interest. It is hoped too that 
you will find increasing pleasure in preparing 
to answer the questions in the lesson for 
to-day. These quarterly revisions are in- 
tended not only to exercise the memory, 
but to give you an opportunity to search 
the Scriptures, as Jesus has told us to do. 

1. Where does Jesus say, Search the 

Scriptures ? 

2. What was the name of IshmaeFs moth- 

er ? (Gen. xvi, 15.) 



122 BIBLE HISTORY. 

3. By what means did Ishmael obtain a 

living ? 

4. How old was Sarah at her death ? 

5. What was the age of Isaac at his mar- 

riage ? 

6. What did the Lord say to Isaac when 

he appeared to him at Beersheba ? 

7. What was the name of the place where 

Jacob had the wonderful vision? 
(Gen. xxviii, 19.) 

8. Whom did Jacob marry? 

9. How wasLaban prevented from injuring 

Jacob when he departed to return to 
Canaan? 

10. Jacob called a certain place Mahanaim. 

What does that mean, and why was 
the place so called ? 

1 1 . Of what did Jacob's present to his brother 

Esau consist ? 

12. What was the name of the brook where 

Jacob wrestled all night? 

13. What authority is there for saying it 

was an angel with whom Jacob 
wrestled? (See Gen. xxxii, 24, and 
Hosea xii, 4.) 

14. Describe the conduct of Esau when he 

met Jacob on his return ? (Gen. xxiii, 
4,9.) 






OLD TESTAMENT. 123 

15. What did Israel make for his son Joseph ? 

16. Where was Joseph when his brothers 

sold him ? 

17. What officers of Pharaoh had each a re- 

markable dream in the same night ? 

18. What were the two dreams of Pha- 

raoh ? 

19. How old was Joseph when made gov- 

ernor of Egypt ? 

20. What were the names of the two sons 

of Joseph ? 

21. How do you account for the fact that 

Joseph knew his brothers but they 
knew not him? (Gen. xlii, 8.) 

22. How were the brothers of Joseph treat- 

ed when they dined with him by 
his invitation? 

23. In what language did Israel bless the 

sons of Joseph ? 

24. Was it by accident or design that the 

patriarch laid his right hand on the 
younger son? 

25. How do you understand Israel's declar- 

ation in Gen. xlix, 10 ? 

26. What cities were built for Pharaoh by 

the Israelites ? (Exod. i, 11.) 

27. To which of the twelve tribes of Israel 

did the parents of Moses belong? 



124 BIBLE HISTORY. 

28. Do you know the meaning of the name 

Moses ? 

29. Whose daughter did Moses marry ? 

(Exod. iii, 1.) 

30. What was her name ? 

31. Who was it that appeared to Moses in 

the burning bush ? (Exod. iii, 2, 4.) 

32. When Moses asked, What is his name that 

sent me ? what reply did God make ? 

33. What tribes of people then dwelt in the 

land flowing with milk and honey, 
which God promised to the Israelites % 

34. What do you understand by flowing 

with milk and honey ? 

35. In what way did Pharaoh increase the af- 

flictions of the Israelites ? (Exod.v, 7, 9.) 

36. By what name does God reveal himself 

to Moses at this time ? 

37. How old was Moses when he went to 

King Pharaoh with the message from 
Jehovah to let the people go ? 

38. Wherein did Aaron's rod differ from 

those of the magicians ? 

39. What did Pharaoh's servants say to 

him at the seventh plague ? 

40. What was the direction God gave rela- 

tive to the lamb for the Passover? 
(Exodus xii.) 



OLD TESTAMENT. 125 

41. How long was this feast to be perpetuated? 

42. What kind of bread did they eat at the 

Passover ? 

43. Who smote all the first born in the land 

of Egypt? 

44. Did this destruction include cattle as 

well as human beings ? 

45. How long did the children of Israel dwell 

in the land of Egypt ? 

46. What became of the bones of Joseph 

when the Israelites departed from 
Egypt? 

Hymn. 

Crown his head with endless blessing, 
Who, in God the Father's name, 

With compassions never ceasing, 
Comes salvation to proclaim. 

Lo ! Jehovah, we adore thee ; 

Thee, our Saviour ; thee, our God I 
From his throne his beams of glory 

Shine through all the world abroad. 

Jesus, thee our Saviour hailing, 
Thee, our God, in praise we own; 

Highest honors, never failing, 
Rise eternal round thy throne. 

Little children, Christ confessing, 

Now in grateful strains adore; 
For his mercy, never ceasing, 

Flows, and flows for evermore. 



126 BIBLE HISTORY. 

LESSON TWENTY- SEVENTH. 

PASSAGE OF THE RED SEA. 

When the immense army of the Israel- 
ites, with their women, and children, and 
cattle, marched out of Egypt, they had not 
merely Moses for their leader, but God him- 
self made known his presence among them. 
This he did by a pillar of cloud which went 
before them in the day time, and by a pillar 
of fire, which gave them light and the as- 
surance of his presence during the night. 

They had journeyed three days through 
the wilderness, and had reached the borders 
of the Red Sea, when great alarm and ter- 
ror spread through the camp. This was 
caused by the appearance of king Pharaoh 
with a large army, who were close at hand. 

It seems that the proud and haughty 
tyrant had already forgotten the terrible 
plagues with which he and his people had 
been visited, and repented of his act in let- 
ting the Israelites leave the country. So in 
hot pursuit he hurried after them, with the 
intention to bring them back and continue 
them in a state of slavery. 




pi 



LEAVIXG EGYPT. 



OLD TESTAMENT. 129 

Neither on the right hand nor on the left 
does there seem any way of escape for the 
affrighted Israelites. There are no boats 
by which they may cross the roaring sea 
before them. They feel utterly unable 
to meet the enemy and fight for their 
freedom. 

The hosts of Pharaoh are well-armed sol- 
diers, eager for the blood of the fugitives. 
The Israelites have no weapons. If they 
had they knew not how to use them. As a 
consequence of their long degradation in 
the house of bondage, they are timid, and, 
worse than all, they lose confidence in 
Moses and in God, although his presence 
was still manifested in tlje fiery cloud which 
hung over them. 

They begin to upbraid Moses for bring- 
ing them out of Egypt. They accuse him 
of being the author of this dreadful calam- 
ity, and declare that it would have been 
better for them to have remained slaves to 
the Egyptians, than to have come out to 
die there in the wilderness. 

In the midst of all this tumult Moses is 
calm. He does not even reproach them for 
their ingratitude and cowardice. With a 
loud voice he cries unto the people : " Fear 

9 



130 BIBLE HISTORY. 

not ; God will fight for you. Stand still and 
see the salvation of God." 

But Moses himself did not know by what 
means the people were to be saved. He 
called upon God in prayer, and this was the 
answer he received : " Speak to the children 
of Israel that they go forward." Then, as 
he was directed, he stretched his rod over 
the sea, and the Lord, by his almighty 
power, made a passage for them through 
the waters, and they all crossed over in 
safety. 

Then the hosts of Egypt tried to do the 
same thing, and when they were in the 
midst of the passage, Moses, from the other 
shore, again waved his rod, and the return- 
ing waters engulfed the entire Egyptian 
army. Not one escaped, and the Israelites 
united in a song of triumphant praise to their 
great deliverer. 

Hymn. 

God's arm hath safely brought us 

A way no more expected, 
Than when his sheep passed through the deep 

By crystal walls protected. 

His glory was our rearward, 
Hi* hand our lives did cover ; 



OLD TESTAMENT. 131 

And we, even we, havo passed the sea, 
And marched triumphant over. 

Accepting our deliverance, 

We triumph in his favor ; 
And for the love which now we prove, 

Will praise his name forever. 



Questions on Lesson XXVII. 

1. Who was the leader of the Israelites when they 

came out of Egypt ? 

2. Who also made known his presence among them ? 

3. How did the Lord make known his presence ? 

4. What went before them in the day-time 9 

5. How was God's presence made known a* night? 

6. How many days had they traveled at thi3 time ? 

7. What point had they reached in their journey ? 

8. What happened then ? 

9. What was the cause of this alarm ? 

10. What does Pharaoh seem already to have forgotten ? 

11. Of what did he repent? 

1 2 What is now his intention ? 

13 What is said about a way of escape? 

14. What about crossing the Red Sea? 

15. What is said of the hosts of Pharaoh ? 

16. In what respects did the Israelites differ from the 

Egyptians ? 
IT. What resulted as a consequence of their long 
degradation ? 



132 BIBLE HISTORY. 

18. In whom did they lose confidence ? 

19. Had the symbol of God's presence disappeared? 

20. Of what do they now accuse Moses? 

21. What do they say would have been better for them ? 

22. In the midst of this tumult how does Moses appear? 

23. With what cheering language does he address them ? 

24. Of what was Moses ignorant at the time ? 

25. What did he then do? 

26. What was the answer to his prayer? 

27. What was he then directed to do? 

28. What result followed? 

29. Who attempted to do as the Israelites had done? 

30. What did Moses then do? 

31. And what then occurred? 

32. How many of the Egyptians escaped destruction? 



-♦♦♦- 



LESSON TWENTY- EIGHTH. 

THE MANNA IN THE WILDERNESS. 

From the dead bodies of the Egyptians 
which were thrown by the waves on the 
shore, the Israelites obtained a great deal of 
wealth, as well as arras, with which their 
strong men equipped themselves. Then the 
whole body took their departure in the 
course indicated by the cloudy pillar which 
still hung over them. 



OLD TESTAMENT. 133 

Under the heat of the sun in that dreary 
desert, they began to feel the want of 
water; and when near the end of a three 
days' journey they came to a stream the 
waters of which were bitter and not fit to 
drink. Moses, under the direction of the 
Lord, cast a certain kind of tree into the 
stream, by means of which the water was 
made sweet, and the people slaked their 
raging thirst. 

Of course it was not the tree that sweet- 
ened the bitter water of Marah, as it is called, 
but the power of Israel's God exerted in 
their behalf. 

But soon a far more wonderful display of 
God's power and goodness was exhibited. 
The provisions which the people had 
brought with them were exhausted. But a 
very scanty supply of food could be found 
in the wilderness. They began to suffer 
from hunger. Then it was that God 
wrought the most surprising miracle that 
the w T orid has ever witnessed. 

On the morning of the fifteenth day of 
the second month after their departure 
from Egypt, they found scattered all over 
the encampment an abundance of food to 
which they gave the name manna. Moses 



134 BIBLE HISTORY. 

calls it the bread which the Lord gave 
them, and in one of the Psalms it is called 
angel's food. 

What makes this miracle so remarkable, 
is not only the fact that the manna fell in 
such abundance as to supply food for so 
large a multitude, but that it continued to 
fall for so long a time. On each successive 
morning, for six days in every week, during 
forty successive years, the manna fell, and 
the wants of the people were satisfied. 

But the manna required labor on the 
part of the people. Every morning each 
head of a family went forth and gathered 
enough for the day's supply of his household. 
Then it had to be ground and baked, the 
Almighty thus teaching them that although 
he could supply them with food he would 
not do it in such a way as to encourage 
them in idleness. 

It is to be remembered that the manna 
fell from day to day. There was only 
enough for the supply of one day at a time, 
with the exception of the day before the 
Sabbath. On that day there fell a double 
supply, for none was to be seen in all the 
wilderness on the day which God sanctified 
as a dav of rest, 



OLD TESTAMENT. 135 

Thus God taught them by this ever- 
recurring miracle their constant dependence 
on him for their daily bread, and also re- 
minded them of his will that they should 
keep holy the Sabbath day. 

Hymn. 

Lord of nature, source of light, 
View in love thy world below ; 

Guide our erring footsteps right, 
Through these scenes of guilt and woe. 

Grant thy Spirit ! By thy kindness 

Let our errors be forgiven ; 
Heal our sins ; dispel our blindness ; 

Then conduct us safe to heaven. 



Questions on Lesson XXVIIL 

1. How did the Israelites obtain wealth and weapons ? 

2. By what means were they directed as to the 

proper course? 

3. Of what did they soon feel the want ? 

4. "What was the character of the country through 

which they passed? 

5. To what did they come at the end of their third 

day's journey. 

6. What kind of water was it? 

7. What did Moses then do ? 

8. By whose direction was this done ? 

9. What effect was nroduced on the water? 



136 BIBLE HISTORY. 

10. What was this stream of bitter water called ? 

11. Was it owing to any virtue in the tree that the 

water was made sweet ? 

1 2. What is said was next exhibited ? 

13. What were by this time exhausted? 

14. What wa3 to be found in the wilderness ? 

15. From what did the people begin to suffer? 

1 6. What is said of this miracle ? 

IT. What was the food called which they found about 
the camp? 

18. What did Moses call it? 

19. What is it called in one of the Psalms? 

20. When did they first find manna? 

21. What two things are mentioned as making this 

miracle remarkable? 

22. Do you remember how many people it is supposed 

there were ? 

23. For how long a time did the manna continue to fall ? 

24. What did the manna require on the part of llio 

people? 

25. What did God thus teach the people? 

26. What is further said of the falling of the manna? 

27. On what day of the week had they a double supply ? 

28. Why did they need a double supply on that day ? 

29. What did God teach them by this ever-recurring 

miracle ? 

30. And of what were they reminded by this miracle ? 



OLD TESTAMENT. 137 

LESSON TWENTY- NINTH. 

THE DAY OF PEOTECOST. 

In the progress of this history we now 
meet with a man of whom much is said in 
the Bible. His name is Joshua. He be- 
longed to the tribe of Ephraim and, on 
account of his bravery he was made cap- 
tain of the army of Israel. 

At a place called Rephidim, a tribe of 
people called the Amaiekites made war 
upon Israel, and a bloody battle took place. 
This was the first time the Israelites had 
been so molested by any of the people in 
the wilderness as to be under the necessity 
of fighting. 

Led on by Joshua, they defeated the 
enemy with great slaughter, and took from 
them much spoil, including gold and silver, 
clothing and armor. 

This place, Rephidim, is memorable not 
only for this great battle, but for a miracle 
performed by Moses, under the direction of 
the Lord. 

The people were parched with thirst, and 
could find no water. Thev were loud in 



138 BIBLE HISTORY. 

their complaints, and Moses feared that, in 
their anger, they would stone him to death. 
Then he called upon God in prayer, who 
told him to take his rod and smite upon a 
rock. This he did, and an abundance of 
pure w r ater gushed forth in sufficient quanti- 
ties to supply their need during the time 
they stayed in that place. 

From the New Testament we learn that 
this rock, from which water flowed in the 
desert, was a type of Jesus Christ ; and that 
the abundant supply of the wants of the 
people represented the fullness of his grace 
and mercy. The apostle Paul says expressly : 
"That rock was Christ." (1 Cor. x, 4.) 

Fifty days have now passed since the 
sacrifice of the paschal lamb on the night 
previous to the departure of the Israelites 
from Egypt. They have encamped in the 
neighborhood of a mountain called Mount 
Sinai. On that day there were thunderings 
and lightnings, and a noise as of the sound 
of a trumpet heard from the mountain, 
which caused all the people to quake for 
fear. 

And the Lord descended in fire upon the 
top of the mountain, and his voice was 
heard calling his servant Moses. And 



OLD TESTAMENT. 139 

Moses, trembling and afraid, went up. 
There God gave to him the Ten Command- 
ments, which were designed not only for 
the Israelites, but for all people in all ages. 
Hence they are called the Moral Law; and 
Jesus Christ, when he came into the world, 
enjoined them as a rule of conduct for all 

men. 

As we have seen, this wonderful event 
took place on the fiftieth day from the sacri- 
fice of the paschal Lamb. From that time 
God's people observed the day as the feast 
of Pentecost, in memory of the giving of 
the law amid the thunders and lightnings of 

Sinai. 

It is a remarkable fact, and worthy to be 
remembered, that in the New Dispensation 
it was just fifty days after the sacrifice of Jesus 
Christ that the Holy Spirit was poured out, 
an account of which is given in the second 
chapter of the Acts of the Apostles; so that 
the day of Pentecost commemorates both 
these wonderful events. 

Hymn. 

How many and great are the foes which infest 
The way through this world to the Canaan of rest I 
The traveller ever his Lord would obey, 
Tet oft is discouraged because of the way. 



140 BIBLE HISTORY. 

In Christ inexhaustible treasures are stored, 
And Jesus will suitable blessings afford ; 
Then why should the pilgrim be filled with dismay ? 
Or why be discouraged because of the way ? 

Unquenchable love and omnipotent power 
Will land him ere long on the heavenly shore ; 
There pleasure eternal will amply repay 
For all the discouragements found in the way. 



Questions on Lesson XXIX. 

1. What was the name of the man to whom we are 

now introduced ? 

2. To which of the tribes did Joshua belong ? 

3. What office did he hold? 

4. On what account was he made captain ? 

5. What tribe of people made war against Israel? 

6. At what place was this ? 

7. What is said of this battle? 

8. By whom were the Israelites led? 

9. Who conquered in this engagement ? 

10. What did the conquerors take from the defeated 

Amalekites ? 

11. For what else is Rephidim noted? 

12. What was the condition of the people? 

13. What did they threaten to do to Moses? 

14. What did Moses then do ? 

15. How was the miracle performed? 

16. What was the result? 

17. Of whom was this rock a type? 



OLD TESTAMENT. 141 

J 8. What was represented by the abundant supply of 
water ? 

19. Where does the apostle say that rock was Christ? 

20. How many days had now elapsed since the Pass- 

over? 

21. Where had the Israelites now encamped? 

22. What were heard from the mountain? 

23. What was the effect produced on the people? 

24. Who descended in fire upon the top of the mount? 

25. What was then heard? 

26. How did Moses feel when he went up? 

27. What did God give him while there? 

28. For whom were these commandments intended? 

29. What are the Ten Commandments sometimes called ? 

30. What was done by Christ when he came into the 

world ? 

31. What was commemorated by the day of Pente- 

cost? 

32. What event recorded in the New Testament is here 

alluded to? 

33. Where do we find an account of what happened on 

the day of Pentecost ? 



■♦♦♦- 



LESSON THIRTIETH. 

THE GOLDEN CALF. 

Moses was forty days on Mount Sinai in 
communion with God, from whom he re- 
ceived not only the Ten Commandments, 
which were written on two tablets of stone ; 



142 



BIBLE HISTORY. 







but rules and regulations for the govern- 
ment of the people. 

As he staid there so long the people 
became impatient. They said, We know 
not what has become of him; and at 
their request Aaron made for them a golden 
calf, that, like the Egyptians, they might 
have some visible idol to worship. And 
they did bow down and worship this image, 
calling it a god. 

Then the Lord was angry and would 



OLD TESTAMENT. 143 

have destroyed them all, but Moses prayed 
for them and their sin was forgiven ; but, at 
the command of God, about three thousand 
of those who were the leaders in this 
abominable idolatry were put to death. 

And Moses took the golden calf which 
they had made and ground it to powder, 
and strewed it on the water which the Israel- 
ites were obliged to drink. 

About this time, under the direction of 
the Lord, a tabernacle was built. This was 
a moveable temple, which was carried from 
place to place in their journey ings, and in 
which the worship of God was conducted. 

To attend to this worship, and to have 
charge of all things connected with it, the 
Levites, that is, the descendants of Levi, 
were now set apart. To the tribe of Levi 
both Moses and Aaron belonged, but the 
special honors of the priesthood were con- 
fined to Aaron and his sons. Previously, the 
first born of each family had filled the priestly 
office. 

Among the duties of the priests was the 
offering of sacrifices, the blood of animals 
being shed to prefigure the atonement 
hereafter to be made by the blood of Christ, 
who is called the Lamb of God. The 



144 BIBLE HISTORY. 

priests also burned incense, trimmed the 
lamps of the golden candlesticks, and kept a 
fire perpetually burning upon the altar. 

This fire which burned upon the altar was 
of celestial origin. It had come from heaven, 
and was to be kept burning continually, day 
and night. The two sons of Aaron, whose 
names were Nadab and Abihu, in violation 
of God's command, offered strange fire, that 
is, common fire, fire not of celestial origin, 
before the Lord. 

A sudden and dreadful punishment over- 
took them. There came forth fire from the 
Lord and consumed them. And Aaron 
bowed in humble submission to this terrible 
visitation from the Almighty, for he knew 
that his sons deserved to die for their willful 
violation of God's commandment. 

Hymn. 

My God, my Father, while I stray, 
Far from my home, on life's rough way, 
teach me from my heart to say, 
"Thy will be done!" 

If but my fainting heart be blest 
With thy sweet Spirit for its guest, 
My God, to thee I leave the rest : 
"Thy will be done 1" 



OLD TESTAMENT. 145 

Renew my will from day to day; 
Blend it with thine, and take away 
Whate'er now makes it hard to say, 
"Thy will be done!" 

Then when on earth I breathe no more 
The prayer oft mixed with tears before, 
I'll sing upon a happier shore, 
"Thy will be done!" 



Questions on Lesson XXX. 

1. How long was Moses on Mount Sinai in commun- 

ion with God ? 

2. What did Moses receive from God at that time ? 

3. On what were the Ten Commandments written ? 

4. What effect did his long stay produce on the 

people ? 

5. What did they say ? 

6. What did they request Aaron to do? 

7. For what purpose did they want a golden calf? 

8. From whom did the Israelites learn the worship of 

idols? 

9. What did they call this golden calf? 

10. What did the Lord threaten to do ? 

11. At whose intercession was their sin forgiven? 

12. How many of them were put to death on this 

occasion ? 

13. What was done with this golden image? 

14. What was set up about this time ? 

1 5. ^Vho gave directions as to the building of the tab- 

ernacle ? 

16. What was this tabernacle ? 

10 



146 BIBLE HISTORY. 

IT. Whose duty was it to take charge of the taber- 
nacle? 

18. To which of the tribes did Moses and Aaron 

belong ? 

19. To whom were the special honors of the priesthood 

confined ? 

20. What is first mentioned as a duty of the priests ? 

21. What did the shedding of the blood of animals 

prefigure ? 

22. By what designation is Christ recognized? 

23. What other duties did the priests perform ? 

24. What was the origin of the fire that burned upon 

the altar? 

25. What was the command concerning it ? 

26. What were the names of Aaron's two sons here 

mentioned ? 

27. What did they offer before the Lord? 

28. What do you understand by strange fire? 

29. What suddenly overtook them ? 

30. How were they put to death? 

31. How did Aaron receive this afflictive blow? 

32. Why was he submissive? 



-♦♦♦- 



LESSON THIRTY-FIRST. 

THE PILLAR OF FIRE. 

The Israelites remained nearly a year in 
the neighborhood of Mount Sinai. During 
that time they received from God a code of 
laws by which they were to be governed. 



OLD TESTAMENT. 147 

These laws relate to all the circumstances 
of life, and, unlike the Moral Law, were de- 
signed for that people only. They are to 
be found in the book of Leviticus, and are 
frequently spoken of as the Levitical, and 
sometimes as the ceremonial law. 

Before the Israelites left Mount Sinai, 
Moses took the number of the people. The 
tribe of Judah was found to be the most 
numerous ; and the total number, in the 
twelve tribes, of the men over twenty years 
of age that were able to go forth to war, 
was six hundred and three thousand five 
hundred and fifty. 

This shows a most remarkable increase, as 
there were but seventy of them when they 
first went down into Egypt, and there, as 
we have seen, their lives had latterly been 
one continued scene of hardship and op- 
pression. 

About seven weeks after the erection of 
the tabernacle the command was given to 
resume the march through the desert of 
Paran, toward Canaan, the land which God 
had promised to give them for an inherit- 
ance. 

As before, the pillar of cloud and of fire, 
which indicated God's presence, still con- 



148 BIBLE HISTORY. 

tinued with them, with this difference, that 
now, in all their journeyings, the cloud 
rested over the tabernacle while they were 
encamped, and was taken up and went be- 
fore them while on the march. This cloudy 
and fiery pillar was their signal to rest and 
to go forward. If the pillar remained sta- 
tionary for a month, or even for a year, the 
Israelites remained in their tents, and onlv 
when it was taken up they journeyed. 

They had gone but a short distance when 
many of them began to murmur and find 
fault. They were tired, they said, of living 
upon manna. They wanted flesh to eat. It 
was well with us, they said, when we were 
in Egypt. There we had flesh. They pre- 
tend to have forgotten their affliction and 
their cruel treatment in that land. 

Then the Lord was angry with them ; but 
he said to Moses, I will give them flesh to 
eat for a whole month. Even Moses began 
to doubt if God could do this, and he asked 
if the flocks and the herds were to be slain 
for the purpose. And the Lord said, Thou 
shalt see if my word will come to pass or not. 

Then, by a wind from the Lord, an im- 
mense number of quails were brought in 
and around the encampment. These were 



OLD TESTAMENT. 149 

easily caught and found to be delicious 
food. But on account of the murmurings 
of the people, the wrath of the Lord was 
kindled against them, and he sent among 
them a deadly plague, by which many per- 
ished. 

Hymn. 

By day, along the astonished sands. 

The cloudy pillar glided slow ; 
By night, Arabia's crimson'd sands 

Returned the fiery column's glow. 

Thus present still, though now unseen, 
When brightly shines the prosperous day, 

Be thoughts of Thee a cloudy screen, 
To temper the deceitful ray. 

And 0, when gathers on our path, 

In shade and storm, the frequent night, 

Be thou long-suffering, slow to wrath, 
A burning and a shining light. 



Questions on Lesson XXXI. 

1. How long did the Israelites remain near Mount 

Sinai? 

2. What did God give them while there ? 

3. To what do these laws relate ? 

4. In what respect were these laws unlike the ten 

commandments ? 

5. Where are these laws to be found? 



150 BTBLE HISTORY. 

6. What are they called ? 

7. What was done before they left Mount Sinai? 

8. Which of the tribes was found to be the most numer- 

ous? 

9. What was the number of fighting men in the twelve 

tribes ? 

10. What does this exhibit ? 

11. How many were there when they first went down 

into Egypt? 

12. How long ago was that? 

13. What was their condition while in Egypt? 

14. How soon after the erection of the tabernacle did 

they again depart? 
1.5. What was the name of the wilderness through 
which their route lay ? 

1 6. Why did they journey toward Canaan ? 

17. How was God's presence among them manifested? 

18. Where did the cloud rest while they were encamped ? 

19. When it was taken up what did they do? 

20. If the cloud remained a long time over the taber- 

nacle, what then ? 

21. What is next said of many of the people? 

22. Of what did they say they were tired? 

23. What did they want? 

24. What did they say about Egypt ? 

25. What do they pretend to have forgotten? 

26. What then said the Lord to Moses? 

27. How did Moses receive this declaration? 

28. What reply did the Lord make to Moses? 

29. How were the quails brought among the people? 

30. What was done with those birds ? 

31. What followed? 



OLD TESTAMENT. 151 

LESSON THIKTY-SECOND. 

CALEB AM) JOSHUA. 

And now, the prospect is that the wan- 
derings of God's people are near their end. 
They have come to the neighborhood of 
the land of Canaan. 

Then Moses sent twelve chosen men, one 
from each tribe, to spy out the land. They 
were directed to examine the country and 
the people, the soil and its productions, and 
to bring back a true report. 

The spies remained in Canaan forty days. 
Then they returned and brought with them 
some of the fruits of the land, grapes, and 
figs, and pomegranates. " It is," said they, 
" a goodly land ; it flows with milk and honey. 
But the men that dwell in the land are 
strong, and their cities are walled. There 
are giants among them, and we are not able 
to go up against them." 

Then the people were greatly alarmed. 
Fear took possession of them. They forgot 
that God was with them, and that he 
would fight against their foes. They lifted 
up their voices and wept. Two of the 



152 BIBLE HISTORY. 

spies, Joshua and Caleb, tried to encourage 
them. They said, " It is a goodly land, and 
the Lord will give it to us. Rebel not 
against the Lord, and fear not the people of 
the land. We are well able to go up and 
take possession of it." 

But the people would not listen. They 
even threatened to stone Caleb and Joshua 
to death. And they said, " Let us appoint 
another captain instead of Moses, and let 
us go back to Egypt." 

It is not strange that with this conduct 
God was very greatly displeased. At first 
he threatened to put them all to death by 
sending a pestilence among them, and to 
make Moses the father of a greater na- 
tion ; but that meek man of God prayed for 
them, and through his intercession the Al- 
mighty changed his purpose. 

They were permitted to live, but con- 
demned to wander for forty years through 
the wilderness. With only two exceptions, 
Caleb and Joshua, the men of that genera- 
tion who were above twenty years of age 
were all doomed to die in the wilderness, 
and the land of promise was to be given to 
their children. 

This was a severe punishment, but it was 



OLD TESTAMENT. 153 

well deserved, and those whose lives were 
thus spared had no right to complain. The 
spies who brought the evil report, and who 
thus led the people into the sin of unbelief 
and of rebellion against God, were suddenly- 
smitten down and struck dead. Thus this 
lesson, which began with such joyous pros- 
pects, ends in sadness and gloom. 

Hymn. 

Come, let us hear God's voice to-day, 
The counsels of his love obey ; 
Nor let our hardened hearts renew 
The sins and plagues that Israel knew. 

As we look back with holy dread, 
And see the hosts of Israel dead, 
Let us accept his grace to-day, 
Nor lose the blessing by delay. 

Accept the promise while it waits, 
And march to Zion's heavenly gates; 
Believe, and take the promised rest; 
Obey, and be forever blest. 



Questions on Lesson XXXII. 

1. "WTiat is the prospect at the commencement of this 

lesson ? 

2. Into what neighborhood have the Israelites come? 

3. How many men did Moses select to spy out the 

land? 



154 BIBLE HISTORY. 

4. What were these spies directed to do ? 

5. How long did the spies remain in the land of Ca- 

naan? 

6. When they returned, what did they bring with them? 

7. What did they say of the land? 

8. What do you understand by its flowing with milk 

and honey? 

9. What did the spies say of the men of Canaan ? 

10. What did they say of their cities ? 

11. What did they say about giants? 

12. How did these things affect the Israelites? 

13. What do they appear to have forgotten ? 

14. Who tried to encourage them ? 

15. What did Caleb and Joshua say? 

1 6. How did the people receive their advice ? 

17. What did they threaten to do to Caleb and Joshua? 

18. For what purpose did they propose to appoint an- 

other captain ? 

19. What is said not to be strange? 

20. What did the Lord threaten to do? 

21. How were the people saved from this destruction? 

22. What is Moses here called? 

23. What were the people condemned to do? 

24. Who were excepted from this condemnation? 

25. Who were doomed to die in the wilderness? 

26. Who, then, should inherit and possess the promised 

land? 

27. What is said of the punishment to which the people 

were doomed? 

28. Into what did the spies who brought the evil report 

lead the people ? 

29. What became of them ? 

30. How does this lesson end ? 



OLD TESTAMENT. 155 

LESSON THIRTY- THIRD. 

AARON'S ROD. 

Some time after the declaration of the 
Almighty, that the Israelites should wander 
forty years in the desert before entering the 
promised land, there was a conspiracy 
formed against Moses. Its object was to 
take from him the power which God had 
given him, and perhaps to put him to death. 

There were more than two hundred and 
fifty who were banded together for this pur- 
pose. Their leader was a man of the tribe 
of Levi by the name of Korah. 

The conspiracy was speedily crushed by 
the sudden and terrible death of all who 
were engaged in it. The ground clave 
asunder and swallowed up the leaders of the 
party, and fire from heaven consumed the rest. 

This sudden calamity, so evidently from 
the hand of God, filled most of the people 
with dismay for a season. But in a little 
while many of them seem to have forgotten 
their terror, and they began to charge the 
death of those men upon Moses and Aaron, 
and refused to see in it the finger of the 



156 BIBLE HISTORY. 

Almighty. As a punishment God sent a 
contagious disease among them, which 
seemed as if it would carry them all off. 
But by the intercession of Aaron the plague 
was stayed after the death of more than 
fourteen thousand. 

These murmurings of the people seem to 
have been mainly on account of Aaron, 
whom they charged with taking too much 
upon himself as the high priest. By a 
special miracle God showed them that it was 
by his appointment that Aaron held this 
office. 

This was the miracle : For each of the 
twelve tribes a rod was placed in the taber- 
nacle inscribed with the name of the tribe 
to which it belonged. For the tribe of 
Levi Aaron's rod was taken. On the next 
day behold his rod had budded and blossom- 
ed, and brought forth almonds, while all the 
others remained as they were. Thus God 
made known his will as to the priesthood, and 
this rod of Aaron's was laid up in the taber- 
nacle, and afterward in the temple, to be a 
memorial of the miracle. 

Several years of the journeyings of the 
people passed away of w r hich we have no 
account. Toward the latter end of their 



OLD TESTAMENT. 157 

wanderings they encamped at a place called 
Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin. Here 
Miriam, the sister of Moses, died. She was 
ten years older than Moses, and is supposed 
to have been one hundred and thirty at the 
time of her death. 

It was while the people remained in this 
place that they suffered for want of water, 
and another miracle was wrought. Moses 
smote the rock, and streams in abundance 
gushed forth. Here it was that Moses spake 
rashly with his lips, and both he and Aaron 
forgot to give to the Lord all the glory of 
the miracle. They said : " Ye rebels, must 
we fetch you water out of this rock ?" 

And now, about four months after the 
death of Miriam, Aaron is called to his 
heavenly home. The people had left Ka- 
desh and come unto Mount Hor, on the 
coast of the land of Edom. There on that 
mountain Aaron calmly breathed his last, 
and his son Eleazar succeeded him as the 
high priest. 

Hymn. 

A few more days preserve me here ; 

And when from earth my spirit flies, 
let a child of thine be near, 

A child of God, to close mine eyes. 



158 BIBLE HISTORY. 

Before its strong arrest I feel 

Give me my death's approach to see; 

And having lived to serve thy will, 
Lord, let me then depart in thee. 



Questions on Lesson XXXIII. 

1. What is said to have been formed against 

Moses ? 

2. What was the object of the conspiracy ? 

3. How many men entered into this conspiracy ? 

4. To which of the tribes did the leader of this con- 

spiracy belong? 

5. What was his name ? 

6. How was the conspiracy crushed ? 

7. What became of the leaders of the party? 

8. How were the others destroyed ? 

9. What effect did this judgment produce on the 

people ? 

10. How long was it before they forgot their terror ? 

11. What did they then do ? 

12. What punishment ensued ? 

13. How many died of this plague? 

14. By whose intercession was it stayed? 

15. What seems to have been the principal cause of 

these murmurs? 

16. With what did they charge Aaron ? 

17. How did God justify Aaron? 

18. Relate the miracle which was then wrought. 

19. What became of that rod of Aaron's ? 



OLD TESTAMENT. 159 

20. What is said of several years of their journevings ? 

21. What happened while they were at Kadesh? 

22. Was she older or younger than Moses, and how 

much? 

23. What was her age at the time of her death? 

24. For want of what did the people suffer at this place ? 

25. How were their wants supplied ? 

26. What is it said that Moses here did ? 

27. What did he and Aaron forget? 

28. Do you remember the language they used? 

29. How long after Miriam's death did Aaron die ? 

30. Where did Aaron die ? 

31. Who succeeded him as high priest? 



-♦•♦- 



LESSON THIRTY- FOURTH. 

THE DEATH OF MOSES. 

Passing onward in their route, the Israel- 
ites enter a district of country where many 
of the people were bitten by fiery serpents, 
and died in consequence. By direction from 
heaven, Moses made a serpent of brass, and 
put it on a pole. Those who were bitten 
were directed to look upon this brazen ser- 
pent, and all who did so lived. 

To this serpent Jesus refers in the third 
chapter of John's Gospel, and teaches us 
that as those who were bitten recovered by 



160 BIBLE HISTORY. 

looking upon it, so sinners are saved by 
looking unto Jesus, who was lifted up on 
the cross for man's salvation. 

This happened in the last year of their 
wanderings ; and soon after they had a bat- 
tle with the Amorites, whom they defeated 
with great slaughter. Soon after Og, the 
king of Bashan, who was of such a remark- 
able stature that he was considered a giant, 
came against them with a powerful army. 
They too were speedily routed by the 
hosts of Israel. 

Now, flushed with victory, they enter 
upon the land of the Moabites, who were 
terrified at their approach, and Balak their 
king sent for Balaam, who seems to have 
been regarded as a prophet. The request 
of the king was that Balaam would curse 
the people, and thus render them an easy 
prey to his army. 

But Balaam being overruled by the God 
of Israel, instead of cursing, blessed the 
people. " How," said he, " shall I curse 
those whom God hath not cursed. How 
goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy 
tabernacles, O Israel. Blessed is he that 
blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth 
thee." 



OLD TESTAMENT. 161 

Being thus disappointed, and fearful of 
engaging in battle with the Israelites, Balak 
endeavored to lead them into idolatry. He 
and his people worshiped an idol called 
Baal, and many of the Israelites were 
seduced by them into the same worship. 
On this account God was angry, and twenty- 
four thousand perished by a pestilence sent 
among them. This severity led the rest to 
repentance, and God forgave their sin. 

Still another victory was gained by Israel. 
This was over a powerful tribe known as the 
Midianites. They were defeated with great 
ease, and a large amount of spoils fell to the 
conquerors. 

And now the life of Moses draws to 
an end. He is told to go up to the top of a 
mountain called Nebo, from w r hich he has a 
view of the promised land. There, after 
blessing the people, at the age of one hund- 
red and twenty years, his spirit takes its 
happy flight to that heavenly inheritance 
of which Canaan was but a type and a 
shadow. 

He was by far the most eminent man of 
whom w r e read in the Old Testament. 
There arose not since in Israel a man like 
unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to 

11 



162 BIBLE HISTOKY. 

face. After he was dead God buried his 
body in a sepulcher of which no man know- 
eth unto this day. 

Hymn. 

Sweet was the journey to the sky 

The holy prophet tried ; 
Climb up the mount, said God, and die ; 

The prophet climbed and died. 

Safely his fainting head he lay 

Upon his Maker's breast ; 
His Maker kissed his soul away 
And laid his flesh to rest. 

In God's own arms he left the breath 

That God's own Spirit gave ; 
His was the noblest road to death, 

And his the sweetest grave. 



Questions on Lesson XXXIV. 

}. What is the first thing mentioned in this lesson ? 

2. What was made by Moses ? 

3. Who directed him to do this ? 

4. Who in the New Testament refers to this serpent 7 

5. Can you state what Christ says on this subject? 

6. What effect was produced by looking at the brazen 

serpent ? 

7. To whom are sinners invited to look in order to 

be saved? 

8. Is what year of their wanderings did this occur ? 



OLD TESTAMENT. 168 

9. With what people did the Israelites have a battle 
about this time ? 

10. What was the result of that battle ? 

11. Who next came against them? 

12. What is said of Og? 

13. What was the result of the engagement with the 

king of Eashan? 

14. Into whose territory do the Israelites then pass ? 

15. Who was king of the Moabites at this time ? 

16. For what purpose did the king send for Balaam? 
IT. How was Balaam regarded? 

18. Why did not Balaam do as the king requested ? 

19. Can you repeat what Balaam said? 

20. What did the king of Moab then endeavor to do? 

21. Whom did he and his people worship? 

22. Did any Israelites fall into this idolatry? 

23. How many perished by a pestilence sent among 

them ? 

24. What effect did this pestilence produce on the 

others ? 

25. With whom did the Israelites next engage in 

battle ? 

26. Who were victorious ? 

27. What fell to the conquerors? 

28. What is Moses now told to do? 

29. Of what does he have a view from the top of 

Mount Nebo? 

30. How old was Moses at his death ? 

31. What is said of his character? 

32. And what of the burial of his body ? 



164 BIBLE HISTORY. 

LESSON THIRTY-FIFTH. 
THE WALLS OF JERICHO. 

On the death of Moses the Lord appoint- 
ed Joshua to be the leader of the people. 
He belonged to the tribe of Ephraim, and is 
the same man of whom Ave heard in a for- 
mer lesson as one of those who were sent 
by Moses to spy out the promised land. 

To Joshua God made special promises of 
his care and protection. "As I w r as w T ith 
Moses," said he, " so will I be with thee, and 
there shall not be any man able to stand 
against thee." The people ratified the ap- 
pointment, and received Joshua as their 
leader, promising a ready obedience to all 
his commands. 

The Israelites were now on the bank of 
the river Jordan, and Joshua sent spies 
across the river to a city called Jericho, 
which, having examined, they returned with 
the intelligence that the people were filled 
with fear, and that the city could easily be 
taken. 

Ail necessary preparation having been 
made, the Israelitish army is put in motion. 



OLD TESTAMENT. 165 

The priests, bearing the ark of the cove* 
nant, go first, and as soon as their feet touch 
the water of the river God's miraculous 
power is exerted, and a passage is made, 
by which the whole host pass over dry- 
shod. 

Now within the promised land, they en- 
camp at a place called Gilgal, near Jericho. 
Here they keep the feast of the Passover for 
the fortieth time since its institution ; and 
here the manna, which has been their food 
for so long a time, ceases to fall. 

After a few days of rest, the Lord said to 
Joshua, " I have given into thy hand the city 
of Jericho." He then told them by what 
means the city was to be taken, and the 
people followed the directions which were 
given. 

The men of war, in military array, but in 
perfect silence, began their march around 
the city. Led by seven of the priests, each 
blowing a trumpet, the mass of the people 
followed. No noise was heard, save only 
the sound of the trumpets. For six success- 
ive days they made this circuit once around 
the city, while the inhabitants, panic-struck 
within the walls, made no opposition to this 
strange procession f 



166 BIBLE HISTORY. 

On the seventh day they marched around 
the city seven times, and at the close of the last 
round the whole army set up a loud shout, 
and the walls of Jericho fell to the ground. 
Then the Israelites took the city, and, being 
directed by the Almighty, they utterly de- 
stroyed all that was therein, both man and 
woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, 
and ass, with the edge of the sword. 

From this terrible slaughter only one 
family escaped. It was that of Rahab, who 
had treated the spies sent over by Joshua 
with kindness, and had given them the in- 
formation they desired. 

The account of the destruction of this 
city is confirmed by the apostle, who also 
attributes it to the miraculous interposition 
of the Almighty. By faith, he says, the 
walls of Jericho fell down; and, by faith, 
Rahab perished not with them that believed 
not. (Heb. xi, 30, 31.) 

Hymn. 

Though nature's strength decay, 
And earth and hell withstand, 

To Canaan's bounds I urge my way 
At His command. 

The goodly land I see, 

With peace and plenty blest ; 






OLD TESTAMENT. 167 

A land of sacred liberty 
And endless rest. 

There milk and honey flow, 

And oil and wine abound; 
And trees of life forever grow 

With mercy crowned. 



Questions on Lesson XXXV. 

1. Who succeeded Moses as leader of the Jewish 

people ? 

2. By whom was Joshua appointed to this office? 

3. To what tribe did Joshua belong ? 

4. Have we heard of him before, and in what capac- 

ity? 

5. What did God give to Joshua? 

6. Can you repeat any of those promises? 

7. How did the people receive the appointment of 

Joshua ? 
$. Where were the Israelites at this time ? 
9. What was the name of the city on the other side 

of Jordan ? 

10. What report did the spies who were sent there 

bring back to Joshua ? 

11. By what means did the Israelites pass the river 

Jordan. 

12. Where were they when they had crossed the 

river? 

13. What was the place called at which they en- 

camped ? 

14. Near what city was it? 



168 BIBLE HISTORY. 

15. What did they do here? 

16. How long before this was the feast of the passover 

instituted ? 
J 7. What is here said of the manna which God gave 
them for food ? 

18. What then did the Lord say to Joshua? 

19. How did Joshua know by what means the city was 

to be taken ? 

20. Did the people follow the directions which were 

given ? 

21. Who led the procession around the walls of the 

city? 

22. For how many days did this march about the city 

continue ? 

23. How many times did they go round the city on the 

seventh day? 

24. What then took place? 

25. Under whose direction did the Israelites act in the 

slaughter that ensued ? 

26. Whom did they destroy? 

27. Who escaped from this slaughter? 

28. What had Rahab done to deserve this exemption? 

29. By whom is this account confirmed? 

30. Can you repeat Hebrews xi, verses 30 and 31? 



OLD TESTAMENT. 169 

LESSON THIRTY-SIXTH. 

THE DEATH OF JOSHUA. 

Soon after the conquest of Jericho, the 
Lord made known his presence among the 
people by a defeat which they suffered in 
an attack made upon a city called Ai. Three 
thousand of them were repelled, and an 
inquiry was made as to the cause. 

And God said, " It is because a sin has 
been committed." He then gave directions 
as to the mode by which the guilty one was 
to be detected. They followed his direc- 
tions, and a man named Achan, of the tribe 
of Judah, was found to have taken and hid- 
den in his tent, for his own use, a wedge of 
gold and other things found by him at the 
destruction of Jericho. 

On account of the crime of this one man, 
God had punished the whole nation by 
withholding his help in the day of battle. 
By special direction from the Lord, Achan 
was put to death. 

Then Joshua and his army, by the aid of 
miracles, went on from one conquest to 
another, until a.1} the chief cities in tlie 



170 BIBLE HISTORY. 

southern part of Canaan were subdued, and 
the tribes of the people who possessed 
them were conquered. 

At length several kings united their 
forces, and an immense army was assembled 
to give battle to the men of Israel. And 
the Lord said unto Joshua, "Fear them 
not, for I will deliver them into thy hand." 
And so it was. In the thickest of the 
fight the Lord sent down great hail- 
stones, which caused the death of a great- 
er number than fell by the sword of the 
Israelites. 

On that day occurred one of the most 
surprising miracles that has ever been wit- 
nessed in our world. There was no day 
like that, before it nor since. The sun stood 
still in the midst of heaven for many hours, 
while the victorious Israelites utterly sub- 
dued the combined enemy, and destroyed 
their armies. 

In all these wars it must be remembered 
that it was the Lord himself who had the 
direction, and that it was by his command 
that the nations which had inhabited Canaan 
were put to death. They had been for a 
long time great and grievous sinners. The 
cup of their iniquities was full, and God 



OLD TESTAMENT. 171 

made the Israelites his instrument for their 
punishment. 

The Israelites were now in possession of 
the promised land, and Joshua divided it 
among the twelve tribes, giving to each its 
portion and establishing its boundaries. But 
they had not wholly destroyed the Canaan- 
ites as the Lord had directed them. In vari- 
ous parts of the land many were still to be 
found who afterward became a source of 
trouble and annoyance. 

And now the end of the good and great 
Joshua is at hand. He calls together the 
elders of Israel and gives them advice for 
theirfuture conduct. "Fear the Lord," said 
he, " and serve him. If ye forsake the Lord 
and serve strange gods the Lord will do you 
hurt and consume you." And all the peo- 
ple said, " The Lord is our God, and him we 
will serve, and his voice' we will obey." 

Then Joshua, at the age of one hundred 
and ten, passed sweetly to his rest. His 
character is one of the most faultless that 
has been drawn by the pen of inspiration, 
and at his death all Israel mourned for him. 



172 BIBLE HISTORY. 

Hymn. 



How blest the righteous when he dies ! 

When sinks a weary soul to rest I 
How mildly beam the closing eyes ! 

How gently heaves th' expiring breast ! 

So fades the summer cloud away ; 

So sinks the gale when storms are o'er ; 
So gently shuts the eye of day ; 

So dies a wave along the shore. 

Life's labor done, as sinks the clay, 
Light from its load the spirit flies; 

While heaven and earth combine to say, 
How blest the righteous when he dies! 



Questions on Lesson XXXVI. 

1. What was the name of the city next attacked by 

the Israelites? 

2. What was the result of that attack? 

3. How many of them went to the attack of that city ? 

4. Why was Israel defeated on this occasion ? 

5. Who gives directions how they might detect the 

guilty party ? 

6. Who was detected ? 

7. What had Achan done? 

8. How had God punished the nation for Achan' s sin? 

9. What became of Achan ? 

10. After this what progress did Joshua's army make? . 

11. What part of Canaan was first subdued? 

12. Who then gave battle to the Israelites? 

J 3. How was Joshua encouraged to go and meet thera ? 



OLD TESTAMENT. 173 

14. By what means did the Lord help Israel? 

15. What is said of the miracle which then took place? 
] 6. What was the miracle ? 

17. How long did the sun stand still? 

18. How were the Israelites engaged while the sun 

stood still? 

19. Who had the direction of all these wars? 

20. By whose command were the Canaanites put to 

death? 

21. What had been the character of the Canaanites? 

22. Who were made instruments for their punishment? 

23. Of what were the Israelites now in possession? 

24. Who made the division of the land among the 

twelve tribes ? 

25. Were the Canaanites entirely extirpated? 

26. What did those who remained afterward become? 

27. What did Joshua when his departure was near? 

28. What special injunction did he give to the people? 

29. What reply did they make? 

30. How old was Joshua at the time of his death? 

31. What is said of his character? 

32. How did the Israelites evince their respect for him ? 



LESSON THIRTY- SEVENTH. 
DEBORAH THE PROPHETESS. 

After the death of Joshua the evil conse- 
quences of not destroying the Canaanitish 
nations were for a long time visible. Fre* 



174 - BIBLE HISTORY. 

quently, in one part of the land or another, 
the Israelites were led away from the wor- 
ship of the true God, and fell into the idol- 
atrous practices of the people of Canaan. 
For these sins punishment was permitted to 
overtake them. These punishments were 
the defeat of their armies by the enemy, 
and occasional subjection. As had been 
told them, the people among whom they 
dwelt became "scourges in their sides and 
thorns in their eyes." 

But although the Lord thus punished 
them for their national sins, he was ever 
ready to hear their cry; and when with 
penitence they sought his face, he raised up 
for them one deliverer after another. 

Joshua had named no one to succeed him 
as leader of the people, and it is not known 
by what means God revealed his will as to 
the selection for that office. Those who 
held it were called judges. 

The first who bore this title was a nephew 
of Caleb, by name Othniel. He was raised 
up to this office by the Lord at a time 
when, for their idolatry, the Israelites were 
suffering severely from the tyranny of the 
Canaanites. Othniel appears to have been 
not only a good man, but a brave soldier. 



OLD TESTAMENT. 175 

He gained several victories over the enemies 
of his country, and restored the people to 
their independence. 

Othniel was succeeded by Ehud, a left- 
handed man of the tribe of Benjamin. His 
reign was memorable chiefly for a great vic- 
tory over the Moabites, in which ten thou- 
sand of the enemy were put to the sword, 
and then followed the long period of eighty 
years of peace and prosperity. 

Shamgar was the next judge. In his time 
the children of Israel again did evil in the sight 
of the Lord, and he forsook them, and per- 
mitted them to be defeated by Jabin, one 
of the Canaanitish kings, who reigned in 
Hazor, who mightily oppressed them for 
twenty years. 

At length, in answer to their prayers, 
God raised up for them another deliverer. 
This time it was a woman. Her name was 
Deborah. She was a prophetess as well as 
a judge, and it is said that she is the first 
instance on record of a female being raised 
to the government of a nation. 

Having appointed a man named Barak as 
general of the army, Deborah directed him 
to march against the enemy of her country. 
And Barak, though he was a brave man. 



176 BIBLE HISTORY. 

said, " If thou wilt go with me, then I will 
go ; but if thou wilt not go with me, then I 
will not go." He spoke thus because he 
knew that the Lord was with Deborah. So 
she went with him at the head of the army, 
and that day a great victory was gained for 
Israel. 

Then Deborah and Barak joined in a 
song of triumph, in which they gave the 
glory of the great victory to the Lord, who 
was with them, and who fought for them. 

Hymx. 

Te tribes of Israel, join 
With heaven, and earth, and seas, 

And offer notes divine 
To your Creator's praise. 

Ye holy throne:, of angels bright, 

In worlds of light begin the song. 

Let all the nations fear 

The God that rules above ; 
He brings his people near, 

And makes them taste his love ; 
While earth and sky attempt his praise, 
His saints shall raise his honors high. 



OLD TESTAMENT. 177 

Questions on Lessox XXXVII. 

1. What were visible for a long time after Joshua's 

death? 

2. Who had directed the Israelites utterly to destroy 

the Canaanites? 

3. Into what were the Israelites frequently led ? 

4. What overtook them in consequence of those sins? 

5. Of what character were these punishments? 

6. What did the people among whom they dwelt be- 

come? 

7. What evidence is there that God did not utterly 

forsake them ? 

8. What did he do for them when they penitently 

sought his face ? 

9. What had Joshua omitted to do? 

10. Who selected men to be the leaders of the Israel- 

ites? 

11. What is said as to the way in which he made 

known his will in this matter ? 

12. By what name were the leaders of the people 

known ? 

13. Who was the first of the judges? 

14. When was he called to this office? 

15. What was the character of Othniel? 
1(5. How did he succeed in war? 

17. What was the name of the judge who succeed^ 

Othniel? 

18. What peculiarity distinguished Ehud? 

19. To which of the tribes did he belong? 

20. In what was his reign chiefly memorable? 

21. How many of the Moabites were slain in that 

battle? 

12 



178 BIBLE HISTORY. 

22. What followed that victory? 

23. Do } r ou know the name of the judge who succeeded 

Othniel? , 

24. What happened in his time? 

25. By whom were the Israelites defeated and op- 

pressed ? 

26. How long did that oppression last? 

27. Who was the next deliverer of Israel? 
2S. What was Deborah? 

29. What is said of her? 

30. Whom did Deborah appoint as general of the 

army? 

31. What reply did Barak make to her command? 

32. What was the result of that battle? 

33. What did Deborah and Barak then do? 



LESSON THIRTY- EIGHTH. 

GIDEON'S VICTORY. 

Forty years of peace succeeded the 
great victory gained by Deborah. Then 
came a more severe affliction than anv 
the nation had yet endured. The people 
had done evil in the sight of the Lord, 
and he delivered them into the hands 
of the Midianites, who oppressed them so 
grievously that the Israelites fled, and made 



OLD TESTAMENT. 179 

for themselves dens and caves in the woods 
and in the mountains. The land was unculti- 
vated, and a dreadful famine was the result. 

In this time of deep distress they called 
upon the God of their fathers, and again he 
heard them, and sent them a deliverer 
whose name was Gideon, of the tribe of 
Manasseh. To him, as he was threshing out 
a little corn in a secret place, for fear of being 
discovered by the enemy, an angel from 
heaven appeared. 

Several miracles were wrought to con- 
vince Gideon that God had indeed called 
him to this high office. The oppressed 
Israelites were also satisfied that Gideon 
was divinely selected as their leader, and 
twenty-two thousand men from the different 
tribes rallied under his banner. 

But the Lord, in order to make it mani- 
fest that the victory was not to depend on 
man's powers, sent away all but a little 
band of three hundred. These three hund- 
red Gideon divided into three companies. 
To each man he gave a trumpet and a 
pitcher, which concealed a lighted torch. 

At midnight the little band drew near to 
the hosts of the enemy; and on a sudden, 
at a signal from Gideon, every man broke 



180 BIBLE HISTORY. 

his pitcher, which revealed the flashing of his 
torch. He then blew a loud blast upon his 
trumpet, and the enemy, startled from their 
sleep, were terror-struck, and as the entire 
encampment resounded with the echoing 
cry, " The sword of the Lord and of Gideon," 
they rushed wildly upon one another; for 
the Lord, it is said, set every man's sword 
against his fellow even throughout all the 
host. 

The destruction was terrible. One hund- 
red and twenty thousand were killed, and 
so complete was the destruction of the Midi- 
anites that they were never able to lift up 
their heads again. 

Then the people of Israel, in gratitude 
for what Gideon had done, proposed to 
make him their king, but he refused the 
honor. " I will not rule over you," said he, 
" neither shall my son rule over you ; the 
Lord shall rule over you." This was noble 
conduct, and shows that he had no ambi- 
tious designs for himself, and that he gave 
all the glory of the great victory to the 
God of Israel. 

Gideon was judge in Israel for forty 
years after this great battle, and during that 
time the people enjoyed peace and prosperity. 



OLD TESTAMENT. 181 



Hymn. 

God is love ! his mercy brightens 
On the path in which we rove ; 

Bliss he wakes, and woe he lightens ; 
God is love. 

Chance and change are busy ever, 

Man decays and ages move ; 
But his mercy waneth never ; 

God is love ! 

Ee'n the hour that darkest seemeth 
Will his changeless goodness move ; 

From the gloom his brightness streameth, 
God is love I 

He with earthly cares entwineth 
Hope and comfort from above ; 

Everywhere his glory shineth ; 
God is love ! 



Questions on Lesson XXXVIII. 

1. What succeeded the victory gained by Deborah? 

2. What followed those forty years of peace ? 

3. Into whose hands were the people delivered? 

4. Why were they delivered into the hands of the 

Midianites ? 

5. What did the Israelites make for themselves ? 

6. In what state was the land left ? 

7. What was the result? 



182 BIBLE HISTORY. 

8. What did the people do in this time of their deep 

distress ? 

9. What was the result of their prayers ? 

10. Who was the next deliverer of Israel? 

11. Of what tribe was Gideon? 

12. Where was Gideon when an angel appeared to 

him? 

13. How was Gideon assured that God had called 

him? 

14. How many Israelites rallied under the standard of 

Gideon ? 

15. How many of these did the Lord send to their 

homes ? 

16. Why was this done? 

17. What did Gideon give to each man ? 

18. When did the little band draw near to the enemy ? 

19. What did they all do at a signal from Gideon? 

20. What effect did this produce upon the Midianites ? 

21. What was the rallying cry of the three hundred? 

22. What is it said the Lord did? 

23. How many of the Midianites were slain ? 

24. What is said of the completeness of their over- 

throw? 

25. What did the Israelites propose to do for Gideon ? 

26. Did Gideon accept this honor? 

27. Do you remember his reply to their proposal ? 

28. How is this conduct on his part spoken of? 

29. How long after this did Gideon continue as 

judge in Israel ? 

30. What was the condition of the people during that 

time? 



OLD TESTAMENT. 18S 

LESSON THIRTY-NINTH. 

THIRD QUARTERLY REVISION. 

The student will find the answers to the 
questions which form the subject of the 
present lesson without much difficulty. 
They will require, however, more time, 
inasmuch as we have gone over a larger por- 
tion of the Bible during the last three 
months than we did in the three preceding ; 
but patient perseverance will overcome 
all difficulties. 

1. What direction did the Lord give to 

Moses at the Red Sea? (Exod. xiv, 15.) 

2. Who went before the Israelites at this 

time? (Exod. xiv, 19.) 

3. By what instrumentality did the Lord 

cause the sea to go back ? 

4. Who, in the opinion of the Egyptians, 

fought for the Israelites ? 

5. How many of the Egyptians, who en- 

tered the Red Sea after the Israelites 
escaped destruction ? 
,6. Where in the Bible do we meet with 
the word Palestina ? 



184 BIBLE HISTOBY. 

7. Who are meant by the inhabitants of 

Palestina ? 

8. What was Miriam, the sister of Aaron? 

9. What is the meaning of the word 

Marah ? 

10. At what place did the Israelites find 

twelve wells of water ? 

11. Where is the wilderness of Sin? 

12. Do you know the literal meaning of the 

word manna ? 

13. What effect was produced on the manna 

by keeping it over night ? 

14. On what night in the week might it be 

kept without spoiling ? 

15. What was the color of the manna, and 

how did it taste? 

16. During how many years did the Israelites 

eat manna? 

17. About what did the people murmur at 

Rephidim ? 

18. Where was the rock that Moses smote 

under the direction of the Lord ? 

19. With what tribe did the Israelites have 

their first battle on their way to 
Canaan? (Exod. xvii, 8.) 

20. Who led the Israelites in this battle ? 

21. Who held up the hands of Moses during 

the fight ? 



OLD TESTAMENT. 185 

22. What did Moses call the altar which 

he built when the Amalekites were 
defeated ? 

23. Repeat the ten commandments. 

24. Who saw the God of Israel? (Exod. 

xxiv, 10.) 

25. How long was Moses in the mount ? 

26. Whom did the Lord say he had filled 

with the Spirit of God in wisdom 
and in understanding? 

27. By whose finger were the ten command- 

ments written on the two tables of 
stone? (Exod. xxxi, 18.) 

28. What did the Lord proclaim when he 

passed before Moses on Mount Sinai ? 

29. How and for what were Nadab and 

Abihu put to death ? (Lev. x.) 

30. Give some account of the scape-goat as 

found in Lev. xvi. 

31. During how many years did the Levites 

wait upon the service of the taber- 
nacle ? (Num. viii, 24, 25.) 

32. How were the movements of the Israel- 

ites regulated in their journey toward 
the promised land ? (Num. ix, 16, 23.) 

33. Who was Hobab ? 

34. Can you give any account of Eldad and 

Medad ? 



186 BIBLE HISTORY. 

35. Why did Miriam become leprous ? 

36. Who brought an evil report about the 

promised land ? 

37. What does the Lord declare in Num- 

bers xiv, 21 ? 

38. By what tribe of people were the Israel- 

its defeated and discomfited even 
unto Hormah ? 

39. What became of Korah and his asso- 

ciates ? 

40. How did the Lord make known that he 

had chosen Aaron ? 

41. When and where did Miriam and 

Aaron die ? 

42. Who succeeded Aaron as high priest? 

43. Give a brief account of the brazen ser- 

pent as found in Numbers xxi. 

44. What remarkable sentiment was uttered 

by Balaam in Numbers xxiii, 10 ? 

45. By whom was it predicted that a Star 

should come out of Jacob and a 
scepter out of Israel ? 

46. How many cities of refuge were set 

apart in the land of Canaan ? 

47. For what purpose were the cities set 

apart ? 

48. How old was Moses at his death, where did 

he die, and by whom was he buried ? 



OLD TESTAMENT. 187 

49. Give some account of the sin and pun- 

ishment of Achan as found in Joshua 
vii. 

50. Why was a special curse denounced 

against the Gibeonites ? 

Hymn. 

Fair Canaan ! the land of the blest I 

A country exceedingly fair ! 
By all are its glories confessed, 

But what must it be to be there I 

We speak of its freedom from sin, 
From sorrow, temptation and care, 

From trials without and within ; 
But what must it be to be there ! 

"We speak of its service of love, 
The robes which the glorified wear, 

The church of the first-born above ; 
But what must it be to be there I 

My Saviour ! 'mid sorrow and woe, 
Still for heaven my spirit prepare, 

And shortly I also shall know, 
And feel what it is to be there. 



188 BIBLE HISTORY. 

LESSON FORTIETH. 

JEPTHAH AND HIS DAUGHTER. 

A son of Gideon, by name Abimelech, an 
ambitious and blood-thirsty man, resolved, 
on the death of his father, to be king of 
Israel. With this view he murdered all his 
brothers except the youngest, Jotham, who 
escaped by flight. Abimelech succeeded in 
inducing the men of Shechem to recognize 
him as their king ; but in a little while they 
quarreled, and he was killed. 

Tola was the next judge in Israel, and he 
was succeeded by a Gileadite named Jair. 
During their time the land was at peace, 
and continued to enjoy the blessings of 
Heaven. 

As had been the case so frequently be- 
fore, the people again fell into idolatry, and, 
as a punishment, were delivered into the 
hands of the Amorites, who ruled over 
them with despotic rigor for eighteen years. 

Having at length put away their idols, 
and again earnestly sought the mercy of the 
Lord, he raised up for them another deliv 
erer, a valiant soldier by the name of Jeph- 



OLD TESTAMENT. 189 

thab. He gained a great victory over the 
enemies of his country, and returned in 
triumph from the field of battle. As he 
drew near his home, he was met by his only 
daughter, who came forth with joy to meet 

him. 

This was a sad sight for him. He had 
made a solemn vow that, if victorious, in the 
fight, he would sacrifice the first object he 
met on his return. The father rent his 
clothes in agony; but the noble-hearted girl 
would not hear of such a thing as the viola- 
tion of a solemn though rash promise, and 
her father did with her according to his 

vow. 

After the death of Jephthah twenty-five 
years passed away, during which nothing 
of much moment occurred. Three success- 
ive judges ruled over the people, of whom 
we know nothing more than the names, 
which were Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon. 

This brings us down to the days of the 
most remarkable of all the heroes of Jewish 
history. The children of Israel had again 
done evil in the sight of the Lord, and they 
had been delivered into the hands of the 
Philistines. An angel from heaven predicts 
the birth of a child who shall do wonders 



190 BIBLE HISTORY. 

for his people. In due time Samson is born, 
and God's blessing was upon him from his 
birth. 

As he grew up to manhood his bodily 
strength wonderfully increased. He was 
probably the strongest man that ever lived. 
Among his feats of strength the first on 
record was the tearing in pieces a lion 
whom he met. He had no weapons ; but as 
the savage beast came near, he caught it 
and tore it limb from limb as if it had been 
a young kid. 

After this, with his single arm, he killed 
thirty of the Philistines, and then, with a 
most unlikely weapon, the jaw-bone of an 
ass, he slew a thousand more of them. 

At length Samson's wife betrayed him 
into the hands of the Philistines, who put 
out his eyes, and bound him with fetters of 
brass, and put him in prison. 

How long he remained a prisoner is not 
known ; but at length, at a great meeting 
of the Philistines, who were assembled to 
worship an idol called Dagon, they set the 
strong man in their midst, bound in chains, 
to make sport for them. This he did for a 
while; but on a sudden he caught hold of 
two of the pillars by which the roof of the 



OLD TESTAMENT. 191 

house was sustained, and exerting his ut- 
most strength, pulled down the building, 
burying himself and an immense multitude 
of the Philistines in its ruins. 

Hymn. 

Appear, great God, appear to me, 

That, by myself abhorred, 
Ashamed I may forever be 

Before my glorious Lord. 

That only sight can pride abase, 

And force me to submit, 
Which makes archangels vail their face, 

And tremble at thy feet. 



Questions on Lesson XL. 

1. What was the name of that son of Gideon who is 

here mentioned ? 

2. What was his character ? 

3. What did he resolve to be ? 

4. What act of cruelty did he perform ? 

5. Do you remember the name of Abimelech's young- 

est brother? 

6. Who received Abimelech as king? 

7. What became of Abimelech ? 

8. Can you give the names of the two succeeding 

judges? 

9. What was the state of the country in the times of 

Tola and Jair? 



192 BIBLE HISTORY. 

10. Why were the people delivered into the hands of 

the Amorites? 

11. How long did this affliction last? 

12. Who was Israel's next deliverer? 

13. What was the character of Jephthah? 

14. What is said of the victory gained by him ? 

15. Who met him on his return from the battle? 

16. Why was Jephthah grieved to meet his daughter 

at this time ? 

17. How did Jephthah evince his grief? 

18. How did his daughter behave on this occasion? 

19. Did the father keep his vow? 

20. Do you know the names of the three judges who 

succeeded Jephthah ? 

21. Into whose hands were the Israelites next deliv- 

ered? 

22. Who predicted the birth of Samson? 

23. For what was Samson remarkable ? 

24. What feat of strength is first mentioned? 

25. With what weapons did he destroy the lion? 

26. State the next deeds that he performed? 

27. Who betrayed Samson into the hands of the Philis- 

tines ? 

28. How did the Philistines treat him? 

29. For what purpose had a large number of the Philis- 

tines assembled ? 

30. What was the name of the idol they worshiped ? 

31. State in your own language the result of that 

meeting. 



OLD TESTAMENT. 193 

LESSON FORTY- FIRST. 
SAUL, THE FIRST KING OF ISRAEL. 

Eli, who was the high priest, was the 
next judge of Israel. He had two sons, 
Hophni and Phinehas, who were very wick- 
ed; and Eli, their father, did not correct 
them as he ought to have done. On this 
account God was angry with Eli, because, 
said he, his sons made themselves vile, and 
he restrained them not. 

Then the Philistines came against Israel 
with a great army, and that day was the 
most disastrous that had occurred in all the 
annals of the nation. The defeat of Israel 
was complete and overwhelming. Thirty 
thousand of their best soldiers fell on the 
field of battle, and the two sons of Eli were 
slain. 

What was even more dreadful in the 
judgment of a true Israelite, was the fact 
that in this battle the ark of God, that sym- 
bol of the divine presence, fell into the hands 
of the enemy. 

The news of this day's disasters were 
brought to Eli, who, on account of bis age 

13 



194 BIBLE HISTORY. 

and blindness, for he had lost his sight, did 
not go forth with the people to the war. 
When he was told that both his sons were 
slain, and that the ark of God was taken, 
the old man fell from his seat and broke his 
neck. 

Just at that time a child was born to the 
new-made widow of Phinehas, and she, 
hearing at once of the death of her husband 
and her father-in-law, and that the ark had 
fallen into the hands of the enemy, gave her 
son the name Ichabod, exclaiming with her 
dying breath, for she also died, "The glory 
is departed from Israel, for the ark of God 
is taken." 

As a successor to Eli, God had raised up 
Samuel, whom he called when quite a little 
boy, and who had assisted Eli in the priest- 
ly office. Samuel was a prophet as well as 
a judge in Israel, and a man who stood 
high in the favor of God. He called the 
people to repentance for their sins, and in- 
duced them to put away their idols. 

In the mean time the Philistines who had 
taken the ark were sorely troubled on ac- 
count of it. They had placed it in the 
house where they kept the image of their 
idol Dagon. On the morrow, behold, that 



OLD TESTAMENT. 195 

image had fallen flat upon its face before 
the ark. The same thing happened the 
next night, for, supposing the fall of Dagon 
mi^rht have been an accident, they had 
raised it up again. When they came to 
look on the morrow, not only had the 
image fallen, but its head and both hands 
were cut off. This terrified them, and a 
grievous disease which broke out among 
them increased their alarm, and in all haste 
they sent back the ark to the Israelites. 

Samuel was a wise and good ruler; but 
when he grew old and infirm he appointed 
his two sons to act for him. They were 
cruel and oppressed the people. Then the 
elders came to Samuel, and demanded that 
he should anoint some one to be king over 
them. Samuel was displeased at the re- 
quest, and told them how a king would 
oppress them. But they insisted, and the 
Lord told Samuel to do as they desired. 
Then the people were called together at 
Gilgal, and Saul, the son of Kish, of the 
tribe of Benjamin, was made king. 



196 BIBLE HISTORY. 



Hymn. 

Cut off by wrath divine, 

The wicked soon shall cease ; 

While they who on the Lord recline 
The promised land possess. 

In a few days or years 
The sinners boast is o'er ; 

His pomp no more on earth appears, 
His place is found no more. 

But still the meek shall live, 
With every blessing blest ; 

Fullness of Gospel-peace receive, 
And everlasting rest. 



Questions on Lesson XLI. 

1. What office did Eli hold in addition to that of being 

judge in Israel? 

2. What were the names of his two sons ? 

3. What was their character? 

4. What did Eli neglect to do? 

5. What was the consequence of this parental unfaith- 

fulness ? 

6. Why was God angry with Eli? 

7. Who then came against Israel? 

8. What is said of that day? 

ft. How many of the Israelites fell on the battle- 
field? 



OLD TESTAMENT. 197 

10. What became of the two sons of Eli? 

11. What more terrible disaster occurred? 

12. Why did not Eli go forth to battle with his people? 

13. What caused the death of Eli ? 

14. How did he die ? 

1 5. What name did the widow of Phinehas give to her 

child? 

16. Do you know the meaning of Ichabod? 

17. Did the mother of Ichabod long survive his birth? 

18. Whom did God raise up as a successor to Eh? 

19. When was Samuel called? 

20. What had Samuel done from his boyhood? 

21. What was the character of Samuel? 

22. To what did he invite the Israelites? 

23. On what account were the Philistines troubled? 

24. Where had they placed the ark ? 

25. What happened to their idol? 

26. Did this happen a second time ? 

27. With what additional circumstances? 

28. What effect did this have on the Philistines? 

29. What was then done with the ark? 

30. What did Samuel do in his old age ? 

31. What was the character of his two sons? 

32. What did the elders demand of Samuel? 

33. Who told Samuel to accede to the request of the 

people ? 

34. Where were the people gathered together ? 

35. Who was made king ? 



198 BIBLE HISTORY. 



LESSON FORTY- SECOND. 

DAVID THE KOYAL PSALMIST. 

Saul was a brave soldier. He gained 
several victories over the enemies of his 
country, but he lacked other qualifications 
necessary for the kingly office. During the 
first few months of his reign his conduct was 
proper; but in a little while he more than 
justified the predictions of Samuel as to the 
manner in which his subjects would be 
treated. He became proud, overbearing, 
and tyrannical. 

God had directed the Israelites utterly to 
destroy the Amalekites with all their posses- 
sions ; but Saul, knowing this command, 
willfully disobeyed it, and spared Agag, the 
king of that people, with the best of the 
sheep, and of the oxen, and of the lambs, 
and all that was good. 

When the prophet Samuel charged him 
with this act of disobedience, he pretended 
that the cattle had been reserved in order 
to be sacrificed unto the Lord; to which 
Samuel replied in the memorable words ap- 



OLD TESTAMENT. 199 

plicable alike in all ages : " To obey is bet- 
ter than sacrifice, and to hearken than the 
fat of lambs." 

For these and other offenses, Samuel, 
under the direction of the Almighty, de- 
clared to Saul that the kingly office should 
not remain in his family, but that it should 
be given to another. After this Saul grew 
worse and worse, more violent in his tem- 
per and more flagrant in sin, and at one 
period of his life seems to have been insane. 

At length, in a battle with the Philistines, 
on Mount Gilboa, Saul and his army were 
defeated. In this fight Saul's three sons were 
Blain and he himself dreadfully wounded. 
Fearing that in this disabled state he should 
fall into the hands of the enemy, he put an 
end to his own life by falling on his sword. 

David, the son of Jesse, had been select- 
ed by the Lord to succeed Saul. In early 
life he had been a shepherd, and at a 
time when the Philistines were at war with 
Israel, he had gained great renown by de- 
feating and putting to death a giant by the 
name of Goliath. From that time a warm 
friendship began between the young shep- 
herd and Jonathan the son of King Saul, 
which continued until the death of the latter. 



200 BIBLE HISTORY. 

David was a musician and a poet. A 
large portion of the book of Psalms was 
written by him. On the death of Saul and 
Jonathan he composed an ode which is 
highly praised for its pathos and tenderness. 
It may be found in the first chapter of the 
Second Book of Samuel. 

The reign of David was marked by many 
victories in war, and by great national pros- 
perity in peace. With the assistance of 
Hiram, king of Tyre, David built a splendid 
royal palace in the city of Jerusalem, which 
had been founded by himself some time 
previously, and was destined to be the capi- 
tal of the nation. David intended also to 
build a temple for the worship of God, but 
that honor was reserved for his successor. 

In the latter part of King David's life he 
fell into grievous sin, and God punished him 
severely. His son Absalom rebelled and led 
to army against his father. In the fight 
Absalom was killed, and David Wept over 
him with loud and bitter lamentations. 
Other afflictions befell him, by which he 
s^tns to have been led to repentance deep 
and genuine, and at length, having reigned 
forty years, to have died in peace. 



OLD TESTAMENT. 201 



In the soft season of thy youth, 

In nature's smiling bloom, 
Ere age arrive, and trembling wait 

Its summons to the tomb, 

Remember thy Creator, God ; 

For him thy powers employ ; 
Make him thy fear, thy love, thy hope, 

Thy confidence, thy joy. 

He will defend and guide thy course 
Through life's uncertain sea, 

Till thou art landed on the shore 
Of blessed eternity. 



Questions on Lesson XLII. 

1. What is said of the military character of Saul ? 

2. In what was he lacking ? 

3. What was his conduct during the first part of his 

reign ? 

4. Whose predictions were afterward justified by hia 

conduct ? 

5. What did he then become ? 

6. What directions had God given relative to the 

Amalekites ? 

7. How did Saul treat this commandment of tbe 

Lord? 

8. What excuse did Saul make when charged wilh 

this act of disobedience ? 



202 BIBLE HISTORY. 

9. Can you repeat the reply made by Samuel ? 

10. What was to he his punishment for this and other 

acts of disobedience ? 

11. What effect had the announcement of this punish- 

ment? 

12. What does he seem to have been at one period of 

his life ? 

13. Where was the battle fought in which the Israel- 

ites were defeated? 

14. Who were slain in this battle? 

15. State the circumstances of Saul's death? 

16. Whom had the Lord selected to succeed Saul? 

17. What occupation had David been brought up to? 

18. How had the young David gained great renown? 

19. Who was Jonathan ? 

20. Whose warm friend was he ? 

21. Where may we find the poetry of David? 

22. What did David compose on the death of hia 

friend ? 

23. Where may that ode be found? 

24. By what was the reign of David marked ? 

25. With whose assistance did David build a palace? 

26. In what city was this palace built? 

27. Who laid the foundation of the city of Jerusalem ? 

28. What is said of David in the latter part of his life? 

29. Who rebelled against David ? 

30. How did David receive the death of his wicked 

son? 

31. How did David regain God's favor? 

32. How long did he reign? 



OLD TESTAMENT. 203 

LESSON FORTY-THIRD. 

SOLOMON. 

Of the sons of King David the Lord had 
selected Solomon to be his successor. He 
was but twenty years of age when his 
father gave him his dying blessing, and said 
to him, "My son, know thou the God of thy 
father, and serve him with a perfect heart 
and a willing mind. If thou seek him, he 
will be found of thee; but if thou forsake 
him, he will cast thee off forever." 

To this advice Solomon gave heed for a 
season, and all went well with him, and 
with the people over whom he reigned. 
He was famed for his justice and his wis- 
dom. To this day he is recognized as the 
wisest of men. His government was mild 
and parental. Every man dwelt safely un- 
der his vine and under his fig tree, and the 
Israelites were respected by foreign nations, 
with whom Solomon introduced a profitable 
commerce. 

The most memorable of all the works of 
Solomon was the building of the temple. 
This was a most magnificent edifice, and 



204 BIBLE HISTORY. 

was justly considered one of the wonders of 
the world. From distant parts of the earth 
were brought the materials for this great 
building, which it took seven years and a 
half to finish. What is specially remark- 
able, was the fact that every piece of timber 
and every stone was prepared and fitted for 
its place before it was brought to Jerusalem. 
There was no sound of hammer, ax, or any 
tool of iron heard in the house while it was 
building. 

The dedication of this temple to the serv- 
ice of the God of Israel was an act of 
great solemnity, at the close of which fire 
came down from heaven and consumed the 
sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled 
the house. Then all the people fell down, 
and worshiped and praised the Lord, say- 
ing, "He is good, for his mercy endureth 
forever." 

Solomon was an author. He wrote more 
than a thousand songs or psalms which 
have not been preserved, and treatises on 
plants and animals, which have also per- 
ished. All that we have of his writings are 
the book of Proverbs, the book of Ecclesi- 
astes, and " Solomon's Song," with a few of 
the Psalms as found in the Bible. 



OLD TESTAMENT. 205 

After all this glory and honor, it is sad to 
relate the end of King Solomon's reign. 
He sinned grievously, became an idolater 
and an oppressor of the people, and a dark 
cloud rests upon his name and his memory. 

Solomon reigned forty years, and was 
succeeded by his son Rehoboam, who, by 
rejecting the advice of the elders, and by 
acts of oppression, soon lost the greater 
part of his inheritance. Ten of the twelve 
tribes revolted, and set up an independent 
kingdom under Jeroboam, whom they made 
king. This was called the kingdom of Is- 
rael, to distinguish it from the other, which 
is known as the kingdom of Judah. 

A civil war between these now separate 
nations seemed unavoidable; but the word 
of the Lord came to Rehoboam, forbidding 
him to engage in it. "Ye shall not go up, 
nor fight against your brethren," saith the 
Lord, " for this thing is from me ;" that is, 
by his permission, there were to be two 
kingdoms thereafter instead of one. 

Hymn. 

Jesus, till my life shall end, 
Be thou my ever-present friend; 
Teach me thy statutes all divin©, 
And let thy will ha always min*. 



206 BIBLE HISTORY. 

When each day's scenes and labors close, 
And wearied nature seeks repose, 
With pardoning mercy, richly blest, 
Guard me, my Saviour, while I rest. 

And at my life's last setting sun, 
My conflicts o'er, my labors done, 
Then grace and mercy richly shed, 
To cheer and bless my dying bed. 



Questions on Lesson XLIIL 

1. Whom did the Lord choose as David's successor? 

2. How old was Solomon at his father's death ? 

3. Can you repeat King David's dying exhortation to 

his son ? 

4. Did Solomon give heed to this advice ? 

5. For what is Solomon famed ? 

6. What is said of his government ? 

7. What is the language of Scripture descriptive of the 

peace of the people? 

8. What is said of foreign nations? 

9. What was the most memorable work of Solomon? 

10. What is said of this temple? 

11. How long was it in building? 

12. Whence were the materials'brought? 

13. State a remarkable fact relative to this edifice? 

14. What is said of the dedication of the temple? 

15. How was God's presence manifested at the close of 

the dedication ? 
1G. What effect did this produce upon the people? 



OLD TESTAMENT. 207 

17. What was their exclamation at this time? 

18. Of what was King Solomon the author? 

19. What has become of most of his works? 

20. State some of his writings that remain to this day. 

21. Where are these writings to be found? 

22. What is said after all this honor and glory? 

23. Why is the latter end of Solomon a source of sad- 

ness? 

24. How long did he reign ? 

25. How old would that make him at his death? 

26. By whom was Solomon succeeded? 

27. What did he lose by his course of conduct? 

28. What was that conduct? 

29. How many tribes revolted ? 

30. Whom did they set up for their king? 

31. How are the two kingdoms henceforth distin- 

guished ? 

32. How was a civil war prevented? 

33. Can you repeat the Lord's language on this occa- 

sion? 



-♦♦♦- 



LESSON FORTY- FOURTH. 

THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL. 

Only two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, 
remained loyal to the son of Solomon. 
They formed what is known as the kingdom 
of Judah, while the remaining ten tribes, 
under Jeroboam, constituted the kingdom of 
Israel. 



208 BIBLE HISTOBY 

After the division, the latter, to whose 
history we confine ourselves for the present, 
selected as the capital of the nation the 
city of Shechera, which was enlarged and 
fortified, but never rose to the greatness 
and splendor of Jerusalem, which remained 
the great metropolis of Judah. 

Jeroboam did evil in the sight of the 
Lord. He set up idols for the worship of 
the people, and they readily fell into this 
heaven-provoking sin. Worse than this, 
he assumed to himself the office of high 
priest, and took the lowest of the people, 
men of bad principles and without moral 
character, and made priests of them. For 
these things God was angry with him, and 
sent a prophet, who declared that his house 
should cease to reign in Israel, and that his 
family should soon become extinct. 

After a reign of twenty-two years Jero- 
boam died, and was succeeded by his son 
Nadab, who reigned only two years. A 
conspiracy was formed against him, and he 
was slain by a man named Baasha, who 
seized upon the throne and was proclaimed 
king. This Baasha put to death all the chil- 
dren of Jeroboam, and thus was fulfilled the 
prediction of the prophet above noticed. 



OLD TESTAMENT. 209 

In a battle with the king of Judah, 
Baasha and his army were defeated, and 
after a reign of twenty-four years he died, 
and his house and family suffered the same 
fate as that which he had inflicted upon the 
children of Jeroboam. For the short space 
of one year his son Ela was nominally king. 
Then succeeded a violent contest between 
several rivals for the throne. Zimri de- 
throned Ela, but reigned only seven days, 
when he, in turn, was defeated, and Omri 
became king. 

In the reign of Omri was founded the 
city of Samaria, which became the capital 
of the Israelitish kingdom and the residence 
of their kings. The city took its name from 
Shemer, the owner of the land upon which it 
was built. It was situated in the midst of 
the tribe of Ephraim, not far from the 
coasts of the Mediterranean sea, 

Omri was the worst king that had yet 
reigned in Israel, He led the people into 
idolatry, and provoked the Lord. His reign 
lasted about seven years, and at his death 
he was buried in the newly founded city of 

Samaria, 

14 



210 BIBLE HISTORY. 



Hymn. 

Praise to thee, thou great Creator ! 

Praise to thee from every tongue ; 
Join, my soul, with every creature, 

Join the universal song. 

Father, Source of all compassion, 

Pure, unbounded grace is thine ; 
Hail the God of our salvation 1 

Praise him for his love divine. 
For ten thousand blessings given, 

For the hope of future joy, 
Sound his praise through earth and heaven, 

Sound Jehovah's praise on high. 

Joyfully on earth adore him, 

Till in heaven our song we raise ; 

There, enraptured, fall before him, 
Lost in wonder, love, and praise. 



Questions on Lesson XLIV. 

1. Which of the twelve tribes remained faithful to 

Rehoboam ? 

2. What did these two tribes constitute? 

3. Of what tribes were the kingdom of Israel com- 

posed ? 

4. To which of these kingdoms do we first direct our 

attention ? 

5. What city was first selected as the capital of 

Israel ? 



OLD TESTAMENT. 211 

6. Of what was Jerusalem the metropolis ? 

7. What was Jeroboam's character ? 

8. Into what sin did he lead the people ? 

9. What office did he assume for himself? 

10. What kind of men did he select for the priestly 

office? 

11. How did the Lord punish him for these things ? 

12. Do you remember how long Jeroboam reigned? 

13. By whom was he succeeded? 

14. What became of Nadab? 

15. By whom was fulfilled the prediction relative to 

the family of Jeroboam ? 

16. With whom did Baasha go to war? 

17. What was the result of the battle? 

18. How long did Baasha reign? 

19. What is said of his family? 

20. What was the name of Baasha' s son? 

21. How long did he nominally possess the throne? 

22. What happened on the death of Ela ? 

23. What great event took place in the reign of 

Omri? 

24. What did Samaria become ? 

25. Whence did the city obtain the name of Samaria? 

26. In what tribe was Samaria? 

27. Near what sea? 

28. What was the character of Omri? 

29. Into what sin did he lead the people? 

30. How long did he reign ? 



212 BIBLE HISTORY. 

LESSON FORTY- FIFTH. 

ELIJAH AND ELISHA. 

In the days of Ahab, the next king of 
Israel, appears one of the most wonderful 
men of whom we have any account in his- 
tory. His name was Elijah. He was a 
prophet sent by the Almighty to warn the 
people of the judgments that would fall upon 
them, unless they repented and renounced 
their sinful practices. 

Elijah wrought many miracles. In the 
time of a great famine, which lasted three 
years, he increased a little oil and flour so 
that cakes were made of it every day with- 
out diminishing its quantity till the famine 
was over. He raised a widow's dead child 
to life. He called down fire from heaven, 
and caused to be put to death four hundred 
and fifty of the wicked priests of Baal, who 
had encouraged the people in their idolatrous 
worship. 

But King Ahab and his wife, whose 
name was Jezebel, continued in their wick- 
ed career. Among other crimes they caused 
a man named Naboth to be stoned to death 



OLD TESTAMENT. 213 

because he had a vineyard which the king 
coveted. This cruel act was denounced by 
Elijah, who terrified him and his wife by the 
assurance that they and their whole family 
should perish by a violent death. 

In a battle with the king of Syria, Ahab 
was killed, and Jezebel some time after was 
thrown from a window and crushed to 
death, and, as the prophet had predicted, 
dogs licked her blood and ate her flesh. 

When Elijah had finished the work which 
God gave him, he was taken up to heaven 
bodily in a chariot of fire. 

Another prophet, by name Elisha, wit- 
nessed his ascension and caught his mantle. 
He also warned the people against their 
sinful practices, predicted the events of 
futurity, and performed many miracles. He 
so increased a poor widow's oil that a small 
cruse was made to fill many large vessels. 
He healed Naaman, a Syrian general, of a 
loathsome disease called the leprosy; and 
at a time when a famine prevailed of such 
severity that the people turned cannibals 
and fed upon one another, he predicted that 
on the next day there would be an abund- 
ance of food. And so it came to pass, for 
the Syrians, who at that time besieged Sa- 



214 BIBLE HISTORY. 

rnaria, were terrified by supernatural noises 
in the night, and fled, leaving behind an im- 
mense quantity of wealth and provisions of 
all sorts. 

Ahab reigned twenty-two years. He was 
succeeded by his son Ahaziah, who, dying 
in consequence of an accident, was followed 
by his brother Joram. When Joram had 
reigned twelve years, one of his generals, 
Jehu by name, made war against him, put 
him to death, and with him caused all the 
other sons of Ahab to be slain. 

Then Jehu seized upon the throne and 
reigned twenty-eight years. He was a 
stern and cruel man. He invited all the 
priests of Baal, the false god which many 
of the people worshiped, to a festival at Sa- 
maria. When they were all assembled in 
the temple of the idol, he sent in among 
them armed men, who put them all to 
death, and threw down and destroyed the 
idolatrous temple. 

Hymn. 

There is a land above, 

All beautiful and bright, 
And those who love and seek the Lord 

Rise to that world of light 



OLD TESTAMENT. 215 

There sin is known no more, 

Nor tears, nor want, nor care ; 
There good and happy beings dwell, 

And all are holy there. 



Questions on Lesson XLV. 

1. Who succeeded Omri as king of Israel ? 

2. What great prophet lived in his reign? 

3. How did Elijah prove that God had sent him? 

4. What miracle did he perform ia the time of the 

famine ? 

5. What favor did he perform for a poor widow? 

6. What other great miracle is mentioned? 

7. Whom did King Ahab marry? 

8. What effect did Elijah's preaching produce upon 

them ? 

9. Of what act of cruelty were they guilty ? 

10. How did Elijah terrify the king and queen? 

11. Where was Ahab killed? 

12. What was the end of Jezebel? 

13. State the circumstances of Elijah's translation. 

14. Who witnessed the ascension of Elijah? 

15. Of what did Elisha warn the people? 

16. What else did he do? 

1*1. Can you state some of the miracles he performed? 

18. What was the name of the Syrian who was healed 

of the leprosy ? 

19. What is said as to the severity of the famine at 

that time? 

20. How did Elisha's prediction come to pass? 



21 6 BIBLE HISTORY. 

2" ww^ the Syrian aTm y terrifi ed? 

M. What did they leave behind when they fled? 

23. How long did Ahab reign ? 

24. Who succeeded Ahab ' 

25. What caused the death of Ahaziah? 
-so. Who succeeded him ? 

27. Whose son was Joram ? 

29' wk y0U , State W Joram came t0 tis end? 

29. Who predated the bloody end of Ahab's f amily? 

30. What was the character of Jehu ? * 

31. How long did he reign? 

32. What instance of his vengeance is related? 



-**++■ 



LESSON FORTY- SIXTH. 
THE CONQUEST OF SAMABIA. 

S „^ ER /^ d6ath ° f Jehu SeveraJ ^ngs 
successively reigne d over the kingdom rf 

Israel, of whom but little is known. The 
longest reign on record was that of Jero- 
boam the Seeond. Hewaskingfortv^e 

vt h n , time liV6d the P r °P het Jonah, 
whom God sent to warn the Ninevites of 
their sins and to call them to repentance 
Jonah at first refused to do as God directed 
and went on board a ship bound to Tar- 
shish. But a furious storm arose and he 



OLD TESTAMENT. 217 

was thrown overboard by the sailors. A 
large fish swallowed him, in whose belly he 
remained three days. At the end of that 
time he was cast upon the land and per- 
formed the errand upon which God sent 
him. The people of Nineveh listened to his 
voice, humbled themselves, repented of 
their sins, and God heard them and had 
mercy upon them. 

After the death of Jeroboam the Second 
occurs a period of eleven years, in which 
there was no king in Israel. The country 
was in a state of anarchy. Civil commo- 
tions were frequent, and, as is always the 
case in similar circumstances, the people 
were discontented and unhappy. 

At length the scepter was seized by 
Zechariah, a son of Jeroboam, who held it 
about six months. He was then put to 
death by Shallum, who retained the kingly 
office but one short month, when a man 
named Menahem put him to death and 
usurped the throne. 

These were dreadful times in Israel, the 
darkest days in her history, which now 
draws rapidly to its end. Pul, the king of 
the Assyrians, made war against them, and 
Menahem consented to pay him an annual 



218 BIBLE HISTORY. 

tribute, which he wrung from the people by 
severe taxation. 

The independence of Israel as a nation 
was now really at an end, but for some 
years longer one feeble ruler after another 
sat upon her throne until Hoshea, the last of 
her kings was taken prisoner by the Assy- 
rians and sent in chains to Nineveh. This 
was at the close of a long siege, which 
resulted in the conquest of Samaria. All 
the principal families of Israel were also 
made prisoners and sent to Media. 

This memorable event, the final termina- 
tion of the kingdom of Israel, and the dis- 
persion and captivity of her people, took 
place in the year from the creation of the 
world 3283, being in the year before the 
coming of Christ 721. 

For about forty years the lower classes of 
the people were allowed to remain in their 
native land. They were then removed by 
their conquerors and scattered through the 
countries of Media and Assyria, from which 
time history loses sight of the ten tribes as a 
distinct people. Their land was then occu- 
pied by a motley mixture of colonies from 
the East, who at length became known as 
the people of whom we hear so much in the 



OLD TESTAMENT. 219 

New Testament under the name of Samari- 
tans. 

Hymn. 

The Lord is great ! ye hosts of heaven, adore him ; 

And ye who tread this earthly ball, 
In holy songs rejoice aloud before him, 

And shout his praise who made you all. 

The Lord is great ! his majesty how glorious ! 

Resound his praise from shore to shore ! 
O'er sin, and death, and hell now made victorious, 

He rules and reigns for evermore. 

The Lord is great 1 his mercy, how abounding! 

Te angels, strike your golden chords ; 
praise our God, with voice and harp resounding, 

The King of kings, and Lord of lords ! 



Questions on Lesson XL VI. 

1. What do we know of the kings who succeeded 

Jehu? 

2. Whose reign was the longest of which we have 

any account? 

3. How long did Jeroboam the Second reign? 

4. What prophet lived in his time ? 

5. To whom was Jonah sent, and for what purpose? 

6. Relate the circumstances of Jonah's mission. 

7. What effect was produced by his preaching? 

8. What followed on the death of Jeroboam? 

9. What was the state of the country during that 

time? 



220 BIBLE HISTORY. 

10. What was the condition of the people? 

11. Who then seized upon the throne? 

12. How long did Zechariah reign? 

13. What was the end of Zechariah ? 

14. What was the duration of Shallum's reign? 

15. By what means did Menahem obtain the throne? 

16. What is now said of the history of Israel? 

17. Who was Pul? 

18. Against whom did Pul make war? 

19. What did King Menahem consent to do ? 

20. By what means did he procure money for this 

object ? 

21. What was now rapidly drawing to an end? 

22. Who was the last king of Israel? 

23. What became of him? 

24. What became of Samaria? 

25. What was done with the principal families of 

Israel ? 

26. In what year from the creation did the kingdom 

of Israel come to an end ? 
21. How long was this before the birth of Christ? 

28. What became of the lower orders of the people? 

29. By whom was their land repeopled? 

30. By what name were these people afterward 

known ? 



OLD TESTAMEISTT. 221 

LESSON FORTY- SEVENTH. 

THE KINGDOM OF JUDAH. 

We now turn back and take up the his- 
tory of Judah, over which, you will remem- 
ber, Rehoboam reigned, having come to 
the throne on the death of Solomon his 
father. 

In his reign the Egyptians invaded the 
kingdom with an immense army, and, among 
other acts of pillage, robbed the temple and 
the royal palace. This was a severe blow 
to the pride of the Jewish people. The 
Egyptian king, whose name was Shishak, 
took away all the treasures of the house of 
the Lord, and all the treasures of the pal- 
ace, so that Rehoboam was obliged to 
make ornaments and vessels of brass as a 
substitute for those of gold of which they had 
been despoiled. 

But what was worse than this, the king 
of Egypt compelled them to pay tribute, 
and thus acknowledge a state of dependence 
and inferioritv. 

m 

After a reign of seventeen years Reho- 
boam died, and was succeeded by his son 



222 BIBLE HISTORY. 

Abijah, whose ways were not right in the 
sight of the Lord. He was successful in a bat- 
tle against the forces of King Jeroboam, but 
his reign was short, lasting only three years. 

The good king Asa followed. Of him it 
is said that his heart was perfect with the 
Lord all his days. He destroyed the idols 
that were set up in various places, and re- 
called the people to the worship of the true 
God. 

A signal answer to his prayer was given 
when there came against Judah an army of 
Ethiopians amounting to a million of men. 
Asa had scarcely more than half as many, and 
the prospect was gloomy ; but he cried unto 
the Lord in prayer. " O Lord our God," said 
he, "we rest on thee, and in thy name we 
go against this host. O Lord, thou art our 
God; let not man prevail against thee." 
The result was the complete overthrow of 
the enemy, and a large amount of spoil for 
the conquerors. 

During the long reign of Asa, which 
lasted forty-one years, the country was gen- 
erally prosperous, as it was also in the days 
of his son Jehoshaphat, who succeeded him. 
Jehoshaphat was faithful to his God, and 
God was with him. He was one of the 



OLD TESTAMENT. 223 

best of the kings of Judah, and during the 
twenty-five years of his reign the kingdom 
prospered greatly. 

The son of Jehoshaphat, whose name was 
Jehoram, married Athaliah, the daughter 
of King Ahab and the wicked Jezebel, of 
whom we had an account in a former 
lesson. 

After the death of Jehoram, who reigned 
eight years, and that of his son Ahaziah, 
who was killed in battle, Athaliah usurped 
the throne, and for the first and only time 
in the history of Judah a queen held the 
supreme power. She was a wicked woman, 
cruel, and blood-thirsty. She killed all the 
royal children except one little boy, by 
name Joash, who was hidden in the temple 
by the wife of the high priest. 

Athaliah maintained her oppressive gov- 
ernment for six years, in which time she 
established everywhere in her dominions 
the idolatrous worship of Baal. At the 
end of that time her own people rebelled 
against her, put her to death, and pro- 
claimed Joash, then only seven years of age, 
as their lawful king. 



224 BIBLE HISTORY. 



Hymn. 

No change of time shall ever shock 
My trust, Lord, in thee ; 

For thou hast always been my Rock, 
A sure defense to me. 

Thou my deliverer art, God ; 

My trust is in thy power : 
Thou art my shield from foes abroad, 

My safeguard and my tower. 

To thee will I address my prayer, 
To whom all praise I owe ; 

So shall I, by thy watchful care, 
Be saved from every foe. 



Questions on Lesson XL VII. 

1 What history do we now propose to consider? 

2. Who succeeded Solomon as king of Judah? 

3. By whom was the land invaded in the time of Re- 

hoboam ? 

4. What special act of spoliation did the Egyptians 

commit ? 

5. Do you remember the name of that Egyptian 

king? 

6. To what extent did this plunder extend? 

7. With what did Rehoboam replace these golden 

vessels? 



OLD TESTAMENT. 225 

8. To what other act of dependence were they obliged 

to submit ? 

9. How many years did Rehoboam reign ? 

10. Who followed him as king of Judah ? 

11. What was the character of Abijah? 

12. How long did he reign ? 

13. Relate what is said of king Asa. 

14. What was the occasion of Asa's prayer here men- 

tioned ? 

15. Can you repeat the language of his prayer? 

16. What was the result? 

17. How long did Asa reign? 

18. What was the name of Asa's son and successor? 

19. What was the character of Jehoshaphat ? 

20. Whom did Jehoram, son of Jehoshaphat, marry? 

21. Over what kingdom did Ahab and Jezebel reign? 

22. How long did Jehoram reign? 

23. What did Athaliah usurp? 

24. What was her character? 

25. What instance of her cruelty is related? 

26. What was the name of the child who escaped? 

27. By what means did Joash escape? 

28. How long did queen Athaliah reign? 

29. What was one of the consequences of her reign ? 

30. How did she die? 

31. Who was then proclaimed king? 

15 



226 BIBLE HISTORY. 

LESSON FORTY- EIGHTH. 

PROPHETS AND KINGS OF JUDAH. 

Until Joash became of age Jehoiada the 
high priest acted as king, and by him the 
young monarch was instructed in the true 
religion. In the early part of his reign, 
and while his instructor was living, Joash 
served the true God, and promoted his 
worship. After that, following the advice 
of bad men, he fell into idolatry, and in- 
curred the anger of the Lord. His kingdom 
was invaded by the Syrians, who plundered 
Jerusalem, and slew many of the people. 
In the fortieth year of his reign he was 
murdered by two of his own officers. 

Joash was succeeded by his son Amaziah, 
who also encouraged the worship of idols, 
and who was slain by his own subjects after 
a reign of twenty-nine years. 

Then began the long and prosperous reign 
of Uzziah. He was but five years old when 
he was proclaimed king, the high priest, 
whose name was Zechariah, acting for him till 
he became of age. During the fifty-two years 
of his reign the land had great prosperity, but 



OLD TESTAMENT. 227 

the king committed one grievous sin, for 
which he was severely punished. He took 
upon himself the office of high priest, and as 
in that capacity he entered into the holy 
place of the temple, he was struck with that 
loathsome disease the leprosy, by which he 
was compelled to live apart by himself for 
the rest of his life. 

In the latter days of Uzziah, and continu- 
ing through the reign of several succeeding 
kings, the prophet Isaiah uttered his pre- 
dictions. He is known as the evangelical 
prophet, from the great clearness with 
which he spake of the coming of Jesus 
Christ into our world. The minor prophets, 
as they are called, Hosea, Joel, Amos, and 
Micah, lived about the same time. 

Another equally good and wise king 
succeeded Uzziah. His name was Jotham. 
He reigned sixteen years, and was followed 
by his son Ahaz, who has the bad eminence 
of being the worst king that ever sat upon 
the throne of Judah. He utterly forsook 
the worship of Jehovah, and did public 
homage to the idolatrous gods of the Syri- 
ans. He robbed the treasury of the Lord 
to pay tribute to foreigners. He defaced 
the sacred A^essels of the temple and mutilat- 



228 BIBLE HISTORY. 

ed the temple itself. He offered incense in 
the valley of Hinnom, and made his sons 
pass through the fire. 

The Lord, it is said, brought Judah low 
on account of this wicked king, and when he 
died, after a reign of sixteen years, the 
people refused to give him a burial-place 
among the kings who preceded him. 

If another such idolater had immediately 
succeeded, we cannot but think that the 
utter destruction of the kingdom would have 
followed. Happily the son and successor of 
Ahaz, Hezekiah, was of a very different 
character. He was a faithful servant of the 
Lord, and devoted all his energies to bring 
the people back from idolatry. He restored 
and beautified the temple, and encouraged 
the priests and Levites in their religious 
duties. In a time of great peril, while the 
king of Assyria was besieging Jerusalem 
with a very large army, Hezekiah, in con- 
junction with the prophet Isaiah, called 
upon God for assistance. This prayer was 
heard, and a pestilential wind, which swept 
over the enemy at night, smote a hundred 
and eighty-five thousand of them, and in 
the morning, behold, they were all dead 
corpses. 



OLD TESTAMENT. 229 



Hymn. 

How long sometimes a day appears ! 

And weeks, how long are they ! 
Months mo^e along as if the years 

Would never pass away. 

But months and years are passing by 

And soon will all be gone ; 
For day by day, as minutes fly, 

Eternity comes on. 

Days, months, and years must have an end, 

Eternity has none ; 
'Twill always have as long to spend 

As when it first begun. 

Great G-od, a little child can't tell 

How such a thing can be : 
I only pray that I may dwell 

That long, long time with thee. 



Questions on Lesson XL VIII. 

L. Who conducted the government during the child- 
hood of Joash ? 

2. State the difference between the earlier and the 

latter part of the reign of Joash. 

3. By whom was the kingdom invaded ? 

4. How many years did Joash reign ? 

5. What caused his death ? 

6. What is said of Amaziah the son of Joash ? 



230 BIBLE HISTORY. 

7. By whom was Amaziah succeeded ? 

8. How old was he when he was proclaimed king? 

9. Who was high priest at this time ? 

10. How long did Uzziah reign? 

11. What grievous sin did he commit? 

12. How was he punished? 

13. In whose reign did Isaiah commence his predic- 

tions ? 

14. Why is Isaiah called the evangelical prophet? 

15. Which four of the minor prophets lived at the same 

time? 

16. Who succeeded Uzziah? 

17. What was his character? 

18. How did Jotham reign? 

19. Who has the name of being the worst of the 

kings of Judah ? 

20. State some of the sins of which Ahaz was guilty. 

21. What did the Lord do to Judah on account of 

Ahaz? 

22. What did the people refuse to him at his death? 

23. How long did Ahaz reign ? 

24. What was the character of Hezekiah? 

25. To what did he devote his energies ? 

26. Whose son was Hezekiah? 

27. Who besieged Jerusalem in the days of Hezekiah! 

28. Who joined with the king in praying to the Lord 

for assistance? 

29. What was the result of that prayer? 

30. How many Assyrians were destroyed ? 



OLD TESTAMENT. 231 

LESSON FORTY- NINTH. 

THE DOWNFALL OF JUDAH. 

After a reign of twenty-nine years Heze- 
kiah died, and was succeeded by Manasseh. 

In the first part of his reign Manasseh 
was very wicked. He set up an idol in the 
sacred temple, and is supposed to have 
sacrificed human victims. His conduct was 
highly offensive to the Lord, and the king 
of Assyria defeated him in battle, and sent 
him and many of his people prisoners to 
Babylon. 

There, in a dungeon, this idolatrous tyrant 
humbled himself before the Lord and re- 
pented, and God had mercy upon him, and 
put it into the heart of his conqueror to 
send him back to Judea. On his return he 
appears to have led a new life, but his sub- 
jects had little faith in him, for when he 
died, after a reign of fifty-five years, they 
refused him the honor of a burial in the 
royal cemetery. He was succeeded by his 
son Amon, who was assassinated after a 
short and wicked reign of only two years. 

The good Josiah followed. His name is 



232 BIBLE HISTORY. 

deservedly held dear as one of the best of 
monarch* and one of the most virtuous 
of men. He totally extirpated all idolatrous 
practices, and with his people renewed the 
solemn covenant with the God of Israel. 
In his days appeared Jeremiah, known as 
the weeping prophet, from the melancholy 
strain of his predictions, and the tenderness 
of his entreaties. The two minor prophets, 
Habbakuk and Zephaniah, also lived about 
this time. 

On the death of Josiah, after a reign of 
thirty-one years, his son Jehoahaz became 
king. His reign was very short, only about 
two months, when the king of Egypt, at the 
head of a large army, dethroned him, and 
gave the crown to his brother Jehoiakim 
who was compelled to pay an annual tribute 
to the conqueror. In the days of Jehoiakim 
the prophet Daniel was carried captive to 
Babylon, where he attained a great reputa- 
tion, and compelled even idolaters to do 
homage to the true God. An interesting 
account of a portion of his life may be 
found in the Bible. 

And now the end of the kingdom of 
Judah is at hand. As the Lord had declar- 
ed by his prophets, the nation was to be 



OLD TESTAMENT. 233 

destroyed for the wickedness of the people. 
The cup of their iniquities was full, and the 
patience and long-suffering of God were 
exhausted. 

During the reign of Zedekiah, the last 
king of Judah, forty thousand of the princi- 
pal inhabitants of Jerusalem were taken 
captive, among them the prophet Ezekiel, 
and were settled on the banks of the river 
Chebar in Mesopotamia. 

Afterward Jerusalem was besieged by 
the Babylonians for the long space of 
eighteen months, and at length the holy 
city, as it was called, was utterly destroyed, 
and all the surviving inhabitants, together 
with those of the surrounding country, were 
sent captives to Babylon. The king, with 
his two sons, tried to escape by flight, but 
was overtaken. His eyes were put out, 
and he was forced to share with his people 
the bitterness of captivity in a foreign land. 

This deplorable event occurred in the 
year 586 B. C, being about one hundred 
and thirty-five years after the conquest of 
Samaria and the destruction of the kingdom 
of Israel. 



234 BIBLE HISTORY. 



Hymn. 



Heirs of unending life, 

While yet we sojourn here, 
For our salvation let us work 

With trembling and with fear. 
God will support our hearts 

With might before unknown ; 
The work to be performed is ours, 

The strength is all his own. 

'Tis he that works to will, 
'Tis he that works to do ; 

His is the power by which we act, 
His be the glory too. 



Questions on Lesson XLIX. 

1. How long did Hezekiah reign? 

2. By whom was he succeeded ? 

3. What was the moral character of Manasseh? 

4. Can you relate some of the crimes charged upon 

him? 

5. What was done to Manasseh by the king of Baby- 

6. How did Manasseh conduct himself in the dun* 

geon? 

7. In what did his penitence and prayers result? 

8. How long did he reign ? 

9. What is said of his burial ? 

10. By what means did his successor, Amon, lose his 
life? 



OLD TESTAMENT. 235 

11. What was the character of the next king, Josiah ? 

12. Can you state some of the good deeds of Josiah ? 

13. Which of the prophets flourished about this time ? 

14. What was Jeremiah called, and why? 

15. How long did Josiah reign ? 

16. Who dethroned Jehoahaz ? 

17. What was Jehoiakim compelled to do ? 

18. Relate what you know of the prophet Daniel. 

19. What is now said of the kingdom of Judah? 

20. Why was the nation to be destroyed ? 

21. Who was the last king of Judah ? 

22. How many of the Jews were taken captive and 

carried into Mesopotamia ? 

23. What great prophet was among them ? 

24. How long did the Babylonians besiege Jerusalem ? 

25. By what name is Jerusalem frequently called ? 

26. What was the result of that long siege ? 

27. What is said of the king and his two sons? 

28. What did the conquerors do to the king? 

29. When did the destruction of Jerusalem take 

place ? 

30. How long was this after the capture of Samaria? 



-♦♦*- 



LESSON FIFTIETH 

CAPTIVITY TN BABYLON. 

In Babylon the Jews do not appear to 
have been treated as slaves, but they occu- 
pied a portion of the country by themselves. 
They were a conquered and despised people,. 



236 BIBLE HISTORY. 

and sad .were their lamentations over the 
glory that had departed. They remembered, 
however, the prediction that their captivity 
should last but seventy years; and there 
were among them prophets who tried to 
encourage them, even then, to put their 
trust in the God of their fathers. 

A signal interposition in their favor is 
related in the Book of Esther, which refers 
to this period. Haman, the prime minister 
of the Persian king, had taken offense at the 
Jews, and had procured a decree for their 
total destruction. Through the agency of 
Esther the decree was turned against those 
who caused it to be enacted, and made to 
result in favor of the captive Jews. 

King Cyrus, who was a wise and humane 
monarch, had issued a decree by which the 
captives were permitted to return to their 
native land and to rebuild their city. They 
were aided in doing this by grants of money 
from the royal treasury ; and amid shouts 
of joy and tears of grief, before the seventi- 
eth year of their captivity was ended, they 
laid the foundation for the rebuilding of the 
temple. The prophet Haggai encouraged 
them in the work by the prediction that tho 
glory of the latter house should be greate* 



OLD TESTAMENT. 



237 



than that of the former. That prediction 
w*s fulfilled when the Lord Jesus, the King 
of glory, made his personal appearance with- 
in the walls of this sacred edifice. 

After this, in the days of Nehemiah, the 
walls of the city of Jerusalem were repaired, 
and a palace was built for himself as governor 
under the Persian king. Many of the cap- 
tives returned to their native land, and the 
prospect seemed fair for the restoration of 
the kingdom of Judah to something like its 
former greatness and glory. 

But these prospects were soon blasted. 
Antiochus, a king of Syria, surnamed Epipha- 
nes, or the Illustrious, made war upon Judah 
with an immense army. He captured the 
city of Jerusalem and slew forty thousand of 
its inhabitants, and sold as many more for 
slaves. The cruelties perpetrated by this 
blood-thirsty tyrant are almost incredible. 
His avowed purpose was to exterminate the 
entire nation. In his madness he not only 
plundered the temple of all its treasures, but 
caused an unclean animal, a sow, to be sac- 
rificed on the sacred altar, the blood of 
which was sprinkled all over the sacred 

edifice. 

While the Jews were horror-struck at 



238 BIBLE HISTORY. 

this wanton desecration of their most holy 
things, mobs of brutal soldiers were let 
loose upon them, and thousands were butch- 
ered in the streets and public places. Jeru- 
salem was given up to plunder and devasta- 
tion ; hundreds of houses were destroyed by 
fire, and the walls of the city were leveled 
with the ground. 

In addition to all these horrors, the afflict- 
ed people who yet survived were compelled 
to unite with their persecutors in the worship 
of an idol which they had caused to be set up 
in the temple of the Most High. 

Hymn. 

God is our refuge, ever near, 

Our help in tribulation, 
Therefore his people shall not fear 

Amid a wrecked creation. 
Though mountains from their base be hurled, 
And ocean shakes the solid world, 

The Lord is our salvation. 

The stream that flows from Zion's hill 

Shall yet, serenely gliding, 
With joy the holy city fill, 

His presence there abiding ; 
The Lord her glory and defense, 
Will guard his chosen residence, 

His timely aid providing. 



OLD TESTAMENT. 



239 



Questions on Lesson L. 

1. What is said of the treatment of the Jews in 

Babylon ? 

2. What did they grieve over? 

3. How long did the prophets say this captivity would 

last ? 

4. What men among them strove to give them 

encouragement? 

5. Where is a signal interposition in their favor 

related ? 

6. Can you state the substance of that narrative ? 
7 What was the character of King Cyrus ? 

8. What was the purport of the decree issued by 

him? 

9. How were they aided in this undertaking? 
10 When did they commence this great work? 

11. What was the prediction of the prophet Haggai? 

12. When was that prediction fulfilled ? 

13 Who was governor of Judea at this time ? 

14.' What were built under the direction of Nehemiah? 

15. What was now the prospect? 

16. By whom were these prospects blasted? 

17. Of what country was Antiochus king ? 

18 What is the meaning of his surname Epiphanes? 
19.' What was the result of his attack upon Jerusalem ? 

20. How many of the citizens were slain? 

21. How many were sold for slaves ? 

22*. What is said of the cruelties perpetrated by Anti- 
ochus ? 

23. What was his avowed purpose? 

24. In what way did he defile the temple? 



240 BIBLE HISTORY. 

25. What effect had this act of desecration upon the 

people ? 
2G. What happened then ? 

27. To what was Jerusalem given up? 

28. By what means were many houses destroyed? 

29. What was done to the walls of the city? 

30 What other affliction befell the people of Judah ? 



LESSON FIFTY- FIRST. 

SHILOH, OR THE PROMISED SAVIOUR. 

Now it seemed as if the scepter was 
about forever to depart from Judah; but 
the prophecy of Jacob declared that it 
should not thus depart until the coming of 
Shiloh, or the promised Saviour. Hence, in 
the darkest hour of the history of Judah, 
when all hope seems to have forsaken the 
afflicted people, a deliverer appears in the 
person of Mattathias, the founder of what is 
known as the Asmonean dynasty. 

Mattathias and his sons headed a revolt 
against their Syrian oppressors, and gained 
several victories over them. They recap- 
tured the city of Jerusalem, and cleansed 
and purified the temple. The public wor- 
ship of the true God was restored, and the 



OLD TESTAMENT. 241 

feast of the dedication was celebrated. It is 
said that to the present day the Jewish 
people, in all parts of the world, observe 
this annual feast in memory of the victories 
by which their name and nation were then 
saved from utter destruction. 

But the country was not allowed to be at 
peace. One enemy after another appeared 
against them, and what was worse, they 
had continual strifes and contentions among 
themselves. 

A Syrian king, by name Demetrius, over- 
powered their little army with an immense 
force ; and Judas, one of the sons of Matta- 
thias, a brave and gallant general, was slain 
on the field of battle. 

Judas was succeeded by his brother Si- 
mon, under whose government the country 
had a season of peace. He also gained a 
victory over the Syrians, but he was soon 
after assassinated by his son-in-law Ptolemy. 

And now we hear, for the first time, of 
the two sects so frequently mentioned in the 
New Testament, the Pharisees and the Sad- 
dueees. As if the country had not foreign 
foes in sufficient force to contend against, 
these powerful factions waged against each 
other a bloody war. In their folly, after 

16 



242 BIBLE HISTORY. 

much blood had been shed on both sides, 
they appeal to Pompey the Great, then em- 
peror of Rome, to act as umpire between 
them. Pompey decided in favor of the 
Pharisees, and at the same time advancing 
into Judea with an army, he captured Jeru- 
salem, and sent the leader of the Sadducees, 
whose name was Aristobulus, and his family 
as prisoners to Rome. 

Antigonus, the son of Aristobulus, was 
not disposed to submit to the decision of 
Pompey. When his father was sent to 
Rome, he found refuge among the Parthi- 
ans, and from the Syrians and other nations 
he gathered a large army, with which he 
invaded Jerusalem. He was successful, and 
held possession of the government for a 
season. 

But now Herod, afterward surnamed the 
Great, was authorized by Augustus Cesar, 
the emperor of Rome, which claimed to be 
mistress of the world, to take possession of 
Judea with the title of king. He did so 
with a large army, and the Asmonean dy- 
nasty, which had subsisted for one hundred 
and twenty-four years, w r as at an end. 

So also had the scepter departed from 
Judah. and in the days of Herod was born 



OLD TESTAMENT. 243 

that Saviour of whom the prophets had 
sung in strains of exulting gladness, and in 
whom were fulfilled all the types and figures 
of the old dispensation. 

Hymn. 

Joy to the world ! the Lord is come ! 

Let earth receive her king; 
Let every heart prepare him room, 

And all creation sing. 

No more let sin and sorrow grow, 

Nor thorns infest the ground; 
He comes to make his blessings flow 

"Wherever sin is found. 

He rules the world with truth and grace, 

And makes the nations prove 
The glories of his righteousness, 

The wonders of his love. 



Questions on Lesson LI. 

1. What is the prophecy of Jacob here referred tot 

2. "Whom do we understand by Shiloh? 

3. "What is the name of the deliverer who now ap- 

pears? 

4. Of what dynasty is he said to be the founder ? 

5. "What is said of Mattathias and his sons ? 

6. "What did they do to the temple ? 
T. "What feast was then celebrated? 



244 BIBLE HISTORY. 

8. What is said of the Jewish people of the present 

day? 

9. What was the state of the country at this time ? 

10. What was worse than the invasion of foreigners ? 

11. Who was Demetrius ? 

12. Who was Judas, and what was his reputation? 

13. How did Judas die ? 

14. By whom was Judas succeeded ? 

15. State some facts relative to the reign of Judas. 

16. By whom was Judas assassinated? 

17. What two rival sects are now introduced to our 

notice ? 

18. In what did these factions engage ? 

19. To whom did they make their appeal? 

20. What was Pompey? 

21. In whose favor did Pompey decide? 

22. What did Pompey besides deciding the question 

submitted to him ? 

23. Who was Aristobulus? 

24. Where did the son of Aristobulus find refuge ? 

25. Whence did he obtain an army? 

26. How did the invasion of Jerusalem result? 

27. Who was Augustus Cesar? 

28. What did Rome claim to be at this time? 

29. Whom did Augustus make king of Judea? 

30. now long lasted the Asmonean dynasty? 

31. What great event marked the occupancy of the 

throne by Herod? 

32. Who was born in the days of Herod? 



OLD TESTAMENT. 245 

LESSON FIFTY- SECOND. 

FOURTH QUARTERLY REVISION. 

With this lesson ends the year, and we 
finish the Bible History as found in the Old 
Testament. Of course there is a great deal 
in the Bible which we have passed over 
without notice. This must be left to the 
student for future investigation. The ques- 
tions now to be answered will require study; 
and the student will be rewarded in propor- 
tion to the patience and diligence with 
which the pages of the Bible are examined. 

1. Who led the Israelites into the promised 

land? 

2. How were the Israelites governed after 

the death of Joshua ? 

3. Who was Othniel, and for what is he 

celebrated? (Judg. iii, 9-11.) 

4. By what king of Moab were the Israel- 

ites held in subjection eighteen years ? 

5. Who was Jael, and for what action no- 

torious ? 

6. For what did the angel of the Lord 

pronounce a curse against the inhab 
itants of Meroz ? 



246 BIBLE HISTORY. 

7. Mention some of the remarkable deeds 

of Gideon ? 

8. Relate Jotham's parable to the men of 

Shechem ? 

9. Give an account of Ruth as found in 

the book which bears her name ? 

10. How long did the ark of God remain in 

the land of the Philistines ? (1 Sam. 
vi, 1.) 

11. How did the Philistines send it back? 

12. What were the names of the two sons 

of Samuel ? 

13. Whose son was Saul, the first king of 

Israel? 

14. To which of the tribes of Israel did 

Saul belong? 

15. For what was King Saul remarkable? 

(1 Sam. x, 23.) 

16. What was the name of Saul's son, and 

for what was he remarkable ? 

17. Give some account of the fight between 

David and Goliath. 

18. To whom was David married? (1 Sam. 

xix, 27, and xxv, 42.) 

19. Who was Abiathar? 

20. What was the result of the battle be- 

tween Saul and the Philistines in 
Gilboa ? 



OLD TESTAMENT. 247 

21. How long did David reign over all 

Israel and Judah, and how long over 
Judah alone ? (2 Sam. v, 5.) 

22. Who was Mephibosheth ? 

23. What was the character and what the 

fate of Absalom the son of David ? 

24. By whom was David reproved for his 

immoderate sorrow at the death of 
Absalom ? 

25. Who was Hiram, and in what way did 

he aid Solomon? (1 Kings v.) 

26. What queen visited King Solomon, and 

was surprised at his wealth and 
magnificence ? 

27. How was Elijah, the Tishbite, supplied 

with food in time of the famine? 
(1 Kings xvii, 6, 12.) 

28. By what means did Elijah restore to 

life the son of the widow of Zare- 
phath ? 

29. What was the result of the controversy 

between Elijah and the prophets of 
Baal? 

30. By what means did Elisha restore to 

life the son of the Shunamite? 
(2 Kings iv, 33, 34.) 

31. Relate what you know about Naaman, 

the Syrian. 



248 BIBLE HISTORY. 

32. Which of the prophets caused iron to 

swim? 

33. What miracle occurred at the sepulcher 

ofElisha? 

34. Which of the prophets sent a comfort- 

ing message to King Hezekiah? 
(2 Kings xix, 19.) 

35. How many years were added to the 

life of Hezekiah in answer to his 
prayer ? 

36. What was the name and character of 

the son and successor of Heze- 
kiah? 

37. At what age did Josiah begin to reign, 

and what was his character? 

38. Why was not David permitted to build 

a temple for the Lord 1 

39. Who was Sennacherib, and what do you 

know about him ? (2 Chron. xxxii.) 

40. What caused the death of King Jo- 

siah? 

41. Who stirred up the heart of Cyrus, king 

of Persia, to make a proclamation in 
favor of the Jews? (Ezra i.) 

42. Who was Ezra, and in what work did 

he engage ? (Ezra vii.) 

43. Who was Nehemiah, and what was his 

character ? 



OLD TESTAMENT, 249 

44. What was the name of the king whom 

Nehemiah served ? 

45. Who mocked and ridiculed the Jews 

when they were rebuilding the walls 
of Jerusalem? (Neh. iv.) 

46. What relation was Esther the queen to 

Mordecai ? (Esther ii, 7.) 

47. Who was Haman, and what became of 

him? 

48. In honor of what event was the feast of 

Purim instituted ? 

49. Who are the four prophets called the 

greater ? 

50. What are the name of the twelve lesser 

prophets ? 

Hymn. 

Halleluiah ! raise, raise 
To our God the song of praise : 
All his servants join to sing 
God, our Saviour and our King. 

Blessed be for evermore 

That dread name which we adore ; 

O'er all nations, God alone, 

Higher than the heavens his throne. 

Yet to view the heavens he bends ; 
Yea, to earth he condescends ; 
Passing by the rich and great, 
For the low and desolate. 



250 BIBLE HISTORY. 

He can raise the poor to stand 
With the princes of the land ; 
Wealth upon the needy shower; 
Set the lowliest high in power. 

He the broken spirit cheers, 
Turns to joy the mourner's tears; 
Such the wonders of his ways : 
Praise his name, forever praise. 



THE END. 



JLsJ . *- 



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